Louisiana Canals and Their Influence on Wetland Development. · 2019-10-18 · LOÜISIANA CANALS...

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1973

Louisiana Canals and Their Influence on WetlandDevelopment.Donald Wayne DavisLouisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

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DAVIS, Donald Wayne, 194-3-LOÜISIANA CANALS AND THEIR INFLUENCE'ON WETLAND DEVELOPMENT.The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Ph.D., 1973 Geography

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LOUISIANA CANALS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON WETLAND DEVELOPMENT

A Dissertation

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and

Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

in

The Department of Geography and Anthropology

byDonald Wayne Davis

B.A., California State University, Hayward, 1967 M.A., Louisiana State University, 1969

May, 1973


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The writer takes this opportunity to thank all of

the people in the study area who took the time to discuss the

history of canals with me. Over one-hundred interviews were

conducted, each represents a memorable experience and made

my field work an enjoyable undertaking.

Special mention must be made of Edward Simmons,

Moise Sturlese, Mrs. A. 0. Williams and Marshall Vignes who

provided free accommodations and a special thanks to LaTerre

Land Company for lodging, food and field assistance. I would

also like to thank Dr. Raphael G. Kazman.» and the Louisiana

Water Resources Research Institute for a one-hundred dollar

research stipend.

My deepest appreciation and sincere gratitude are

extended to Dr. Randall A. Detro, Francis T. Nicholls State

University, for his constant aid and assistance in helping me

with this essay. Dr. Detro provided lodging, as well as an

introduction to many of the informants I interviewed in

Jefferson, Lafourche, St. Charles and Terrebonne Parishes.

For this help, I am very grateful.

ii


Additional help and advice of the professional nature

has been obtained from Dr. H, J. Walker, chairman of the

writer's committee. Dr. Walker's guidance, wisdom, patience,

suggestions and initial trust are sincerely appreciated.

Appreciation is also extended to the members of the

writer's committee who have made numerous suggestions in

the compilation of this text.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Karen Sue

Davis and my parents Mr. and Mrs. Don L. Davis. During my

seven months of field work my wife worked to provide the

necessary funds for this study and it is through her

patience, understanding and assistance that this manuscript

is a reality. I owe considerable to my parents, in that they

provided aid and guidance when they were needed.

To all of these people I express my sincere thanks.

iii


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................................ ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................... iv

LIST OF FIGURES....................................... ix

LIST OF TABLES . ................................... xvii

A B S T R A C T .................................. xviii

INTRODUCTION ........................................... 1

Ditches and Canals ................................... 5

Marsh and Swamp Environments ........................ 8

The Total Canal System .............................. 10

Chapter

I. LOUISIANA'S DRAINAGE DITCHES: A METHOD OFAGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT AND RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT..........................................12

Swamp Land Acts Encourages DrainageImprovements ................................. 16

State-Supported Projects ...................... 18

Lafourche Valley ............................ 18

West of Bayou Lafourche........................ 22

Land Reclamation . .............................24

iv


Chapter Page

Equipment used in Reclamation Programs.......... 28

Steam Bucket Dredges......................... 28

D r a g l i n e s .................................... 30

Reclamation Techniques 31

Drainage Projects: Successes and Failures. • . 35

Drainage Canals - A Summary ................... .39

II. TRANSPORTATION. C A N A L S ..............................41

The Evolution of Louisiana's TransportationCanals ................................43

Attakapas Canal................................ 46

Harvey Canal ................................ 47

Other Canals...................................... 50

Bayou Teche Canals ............... . . . . . 55

Barataria Waterway .......................... 56

Robinson Canal .............................. 60

Shipping Canals through New Orleans.......... 60

Canal Construction After the War Between theStates...........................................61

Terrebonne Canal ....................... . . 61

Grays Canal.................................... 62

Panama Canal ................................ 63

V


Chapter Page

Jean Plaisance Canal, .....................63

Mississippi River Toll Canals . ........... 64

The First Delta Canals .................... 66

The Mississippi by-pass. Lake BorgneC a n a l ...................................... 67

Expansion of the Transportation Canal Network. 69

Later Developxnents............................. 70

III. TRAPPING CANALS; A TRAPPER'S ACCESS TO THEM A R S H ...............................................72

Construction Techniques......................... 76

Pirogue Paddles ............................. 77

Shovels, Rakes and Sweepers ................ 78

M u d b o a t s .................................... 82

Ditch Diggers................................84

Marsh Buggies........................... 85

Trapping Areas, Marsh Leases and TheirInfluence on Canalization.....................89

Trapping Land Leases .............. 90

Trapping Canals - A Summary.....................93

Chenier Plain ................... . . . . . 95

Deltaic P l a i n .............................. 101

IV. LOGGING CANALS: A DISTINCT PATTERN ON THESWAMP LANDSCAPE...................................110

Large-Scale L o g g i n g .......................... Illvi


Chapter Page

Construction Techniques........................ 115

Logging Canals - A Summary.................... 118

V. PETROLEUM CANALS: LOUISIANA'S LARGESTCANAL N E T W O R K ..................... 122

Development of Petroleum Dredging............. 130

Dydraulic Dredge .......................... 131

Bucket Dredge ............................ 134

Spud B a r g e ................................... 137

Marsh Buggies.................................140

Petroleum Canals - A Summary ............... 141

Pipeline Canals . . . • 145

Oil Field Transport Canals ............... 146

VI. OTHER CANAL LIKE F E A T U R E S ...................... 147

Cattle W a l k w a y s .......... 147

Boundary Ditches..................... 148

VII. CANAL DEVELOPMENT . . . . , ................. 150

Patterns....................................... 150

Drainage Ditches .......................... 150

Transportation Canals ........... . . . . 152

Traînasse..................................... 153

Logging Canals ................... • 153

Petroleum Canals............................ 154vii


Chapter Page

Case Studies...................... 154

Barataria.................................. 156

Bayou Du L a r g e ........................... 158

Centerville . ........................... 160

Lake Felicity..............................162

Pecan I s l a n d ..............................163

West Delta ..............................166

The F u t u r e........................ 168

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................. 171

A P P E N D I C E S .............................................180

I. INVENTORY OF TRANSPORTATION CANALS BETWEEN1887 TO 1930 AS SHOWN ON FIGURE 8 4 ............ 181

IIA. PRINCIPAL LUMBERING CANALS BUILT BETWEEN1880 AND 1930.................................. 194

IIB. REGIONS WITH UNNAMED LOGGING CANALS............ 196

lie. LOGGING CANALS OF UNKNOWN BUILDERS............ 198

V I T A ................................................... 199

viii


LIST OP FIGURES

Figure Page

1. Map — Louisiana south of 30* north latitude.Base map after U.S. Army Corps of Engineers(1966)........................................... 2

2. Map — Location of the principal environments within the study area. Map compiled fromNewton (1972) ................................... 3

3. Map — The expansion of the canal system alongthe Mississippi south of New Orleans, 1817 to 1842. Base map after Hughes (1842)........... 14

4. Map — Principal early canals in the vicinityof Bayou Lafourche. Base map after U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1966)...................... 20

5. Map — New Orleans canal network, after Banks1865............................................. 25

6. Bucket dredge engaged in channel maintenance. . 32

7. Barge-mounted dragline with a clam-shellbucket on the deck.................................32

8. Extra heavy orange-peel bucket (Simon, p.8).................................................. 32

9. Small dragline equipped with a standarddragline bucket ................................ 32

10. Map — Reclamation project at Des Allemands.Base map after U.S.G.S. Hahnville Quadrangle (1969)........................................... 33

11. Farmer using a reclamation canal for transportation purposes (Thomson, p. 4 5 ) ............. 34

ix


Figure Page

12. Map — Reclgunation projects, circa 1917, fromOkey, 1918, p. 3, . . . . ..................... 36

13. Map — New Orleans East, 1917 and 1967, from Okey, 1918, p. 27 and 32 and U.S.G.S. Little Woods and Spanish Fort Quadrangels, 1967 and1965............................................. 37

14. Current rice reclamation project, located on the fringes of the marsh south of Abbeville . .

15. Map — Louisiana's principal transportationcanal. Base map after U.S. A m y Corps of Engineers ( 1 9 6 6 ) .......... 42

16. Map — Canal running to the Southern Lakesand Canal Bellisle, after Gauld (1778).......... 44

17. Map — Canal de Gentilly, after Anon. (1817). . 44

18. Map — Attakapas Canal, from Anon. (1817) . . . 48

19. Map — Harvey Canal, from Leach and Turtle(1887)........................................... 48

20. The Harvey Canal gate into the lock betweenthe channel «and the Mississippi . ...........

21. Map — The "Way from LaFourche to New Orleans,"from Anon. (1817)..............................

22. Map — Early Bayou Lafourche**linked canals,from Anon. (1817)..............................

23. Map — Caminada Bay Canal, from Ludlow (1818) .

24. Map — First mapped canal west of Bayou Teche,from Ludlow ( 1 8 1 8 ) ............................

25. Map — Grand Caillou Canal (now called CompanyCanal) connecting the Atchafalaya River with Lake Salvador, providing a continuous watercourse from Morgan City td New Orleans, from Gredicun and Tanner (1838)........................

X


Figure Page

26. Map — Grays, Jeam Plaisance, Panama and Terre- bonne canals, from Leach and Turtle (1887),U.S.G.S. Leeville Quadrangle (1967) and U.S.G.S. Lake Felicity Quadrangle (1964)...........

27. Map — Two important Mississippi River toll canals, from U.S.G.S. Empire Quadrangle(1960).............................................. 65

28. Map — The first canals in the Mississippi delta, after Talcott (1839) and Lockett(1873) 68

29. Map — Lake Borgne Canal, after Leach andTurtle (1887) .................................. 68

30. Trapper using a push-pole to memeuver his pirogue through a trainasse (courtesy FredB. Kniffen)......................................

31. Map — Significant Louisiana coastal settlements, circa 1930. Material compiled from documents, interviews and m a p s ...............

32. Louisiana muskrat (courtesy Louisiana Department of Commerce and Industry).................

33. Trapper's cabin with a display of muskratpelts (courtesy Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission)...........................

34. Approximately one mile of trainasse, whichis used by trappers to insure a "good winter" catch.............. ...........................

35. A "crooked shovel" is the principal tool incutting trainasse.............................

36. Idealized method of cooperative trainasseconstruction ................................

76

79

81

xi


Figure Page

37. A Pecan Island mudboat with a pirogue in the stern; the pirogue is transported into the marsh where it is used (courtesy Fred B.Kniffen)......................................... 83

38. One of the numerous enlarged Chenier Plain trainasse; through use, the channel widthhas increased.................................. 83

39. Ditch digger employed in Deltaic Plain trainasse construction; note the cutting bladesand splatter shield........................... 87

40. Wheeled buggies were used in the marsh aroundBayou Lafourche; note the high w h e e l s ......... 87

41. Tracked buggies were equipped with a marsh plow and used in digging ditches in theChenier Plain .................................. 88

42. The marsh plow, designed by John Paul Crain, when pulled by two buggies could excavate upto 12 miles of ditch a day...................... 88

43. Idealized trapping area and trainasse placement ........................................... 91

44. Map — Pecan Island trapping ditches, circa 1960, from U.S.G.S. Pecan Island Quadrangle(1951)............................ 95

45. Map — Trapping canals located on the Chenier Plain, circa 1933. Material compiled from U.S.G.S. Quadrangles dated between 1930 and1933............................................. 96

46. Flotant, located in the Deltaic Plain, is made up of decomposing vegetative debris, whichmakes it a quagmire underfoot................... 102

3cii


Figure Page

47. Map Carrion Crow Lake ditches are an example of how Deltaic Plain trappers cut only a few channels, extending from a natural water body into their land, from U.S.G.S. Lake DeCade Quadrangle (1956)...................................... 104

48. Map — Important canals around Lake DeCade, fromU.S.G.S. Lake DeCade Quadrangle (1956) ......... 105

49. Map — One of the few examples, on the DeltaicPlain, of a dense network of ditches used to efficiently trap a lease, from U.S.G.S. Lake DeCade Quadrangle (1956) ........................ 105

50. Cut swamp timber (courtesy Bowie LumberCompany)........................................... 113

51. Dredging equipment excavating a logging channel (courtesy Bowie Lumber Company).............. 113

52. Map — Louisiana logging canals, circa 1930.Compiled from U.S.G.S. Quadrangles dated between 1930 and 1933.............................. 114

53. Pull-boat working in the swamp; the cables areused to pull the logs into the canal (courtesy Bowie Lumber Company)............................. 1^®

54. Pull-boat and log raft in one of Louisiana's logging canals (courtesy Bowie Lumber Company) . H ®

55. Map — Atchafalaya Basin logging canals; note the channel curvature into the main canal,from U.S.G.S. Centerville Quadrangle (1959). . .

56. The fan-shaped paths radiating out from the logging channels leave distinct pull-boatscars (U.S. Department of Agriculture)........... 1^®

57. Map -- May Brothers used a ponding techniqueto harvest cypress, from U.S.G.S. Napoleonville Quadrangle (1952)................................

xiiX


Figure Page

58. Collapsed floating drilling platform that canbe pulled to a well site.......................... 125

59. One of the numerous canals used to gain accessto well s i t e s ..................................... 125

60. Map -- Principal petroleum fields, circa 1930,from U.S.G.S. Quadrangles dated between 1930and 1933 126

61. Venice dome and the massive system of man- made canals associated with the oil and gasfields in the area (N.A.S.A. p h o t o ) ...............127

62. Catfish Lake petroleum field; note the cus-pated channels and coalescence between canals (courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1966 air-photo mosaic) ................................ 128

63. One of the numerous water-control structuresnow being constructed in the marsh. These weirs are generally being placed on pipeline canals where they cross a bayou.............. 129

64. Offshore oil w e l l ................................. 122

65. To supply the marsh and offshore oil fields, large land-based logistic facilities havebeen established, like this one in Houma. . . . 122

66. The hydraulic or suction dredge is the most efficient excavation tool used in diggingc a n a l s ............................................ 122

67. Typical hydraulic dredge cutterhead used toexcavate a c a n a l ................................. 122

68. Barge-mounted bucket dredge being moved to anew job ........................ 122

69. Small clam-shell bucket, used on bucket typedredges............................................ 1^^

xiv


Figure Page

70. Barge-mounted bucket dredge working in oneof Louisiana's coastal lakes...................... 137

71. Spud barge equipped with a small mobile dragline; the vertical columns are the spuds, which are lowered into the water to stabilizethe b a r g e .............................. 138

72. The 2-1/2-yard dragline bucket is about thelargest used by draglines........................ 140

73. Marsh buggy draglines are used to excavatesmall channels, such as those associated with laying pipelines................................... 141

74. Typical well-access channel; note the straightness, spoil bank and well site.................... 143

75. Diagram of the oil canal terminons point. . . . 143

76. Map — Lafitte oil field indicating the growthpattern in one of the alluvial wetland oil and gas fields, from U.S.G.S. Barataria Quadrangle (1962)............................... 144

77A. Map — Case study quadrangles location............151

77B. Idealized canal network patterns ............. 151

78. Map — Canal growth and expansion in theBarataria region between 1939 and 1968. Compiled from U.S.G.S. Quadrangles (1939 to 1962) and a 1968 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers airphoto m o s a i c ..................................... 157

79. Map -- Canal growth and expansion in the BayouDu Large region between 1944 and 1968. Compiled from U.S.G.S. Quadrangles (1944 to 1964) and a 196 8 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers airphoto m o s a i c ..................................... 1^^

X V


Figure Page

80. Map — Canal growth and expansion in the Centerville region between 1930 and 1959.Compiled from U.S.G.S. Quadrangles (1940 to1959)........................................... 161

81. Map — Canal growth and expansion in the LakeFelicity region between 1939 and 1968. Compiled from U.S.G.S. Quadrangles (1939 to 1964) and a 1968 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers airphoto m o s a i c .................................. 164

82. Map -- Canal growth and expansion in the PecanIsland region between 1932 and 1968. Compiled from U.S.G.S. Quadrangles (1932 to 1951) and a 1968 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers airphoto m o s a i c .................................. 165

83. Map — Canal growth and expansion in the WestDelta region between 1935 and 1968. Compiled from U.S.G.S. Quadrangles (1932 to 1953) and a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers air-photomosaic.......................................... 167

84. Map — Inventory of transportation canals,1887 to 1930. Material compiled from documents, interviews and m a p s ................... 1^3

xvi


LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1. Marsh and swamp oil and gas fields, 1926 to May, 1972, From Biennial Reports of Louisiana Department of Conservation 1932- 1933; Petroleum Production in Louisiana 1942-1955; Oil and Gas Map, May, 1972............... 123

2. Common buckets used on draglines. From Power Crane and Shovel Association, 1966,pp. 11, 12....................................... 139

xvii


ABSTRACT

Coastal Louisiana, according to recent measurements,

has 4,572 miles of canals. This network can be divided into

five types; drainage and reclamation, trapping, logging,

petroleum and transportation. All of these were constructed

in response to a particular economic interest and provided

access to the resources in the marsh-swamp complex. These

channels, consequently, would not be a landscape feature

had it not been for the wetland resources.

Historic maps indicate marsh and swamp drainage

ditches were excavated as early as 1720. These watercourses

helped drain agricultural land and remove swêunp cypress.

From this beginning, planters have continued to drain and

reclaim land to increase their agricultural output. In

the early 1900's, marsh-drainage channels were excavated

in an attempt to reclaim this land. The projects generally

failed, but the canals are still used as local transporta

tion routes.

The trapping ditch, or trainasse, provided coastal

dwellers with quick access to their traps and an easy way

to move furs and other supplies. The chcuinels are important,

because they allow individuals to trap over a large areaxvlii


and, since land owners never placed restrictions on the

number of "trails" built, trappers had complete freedom to

dig as many canals as needed to work their land efficiently.

Hence, the most intensive trapping networks develop in

muskrat and nutria feeding areas.

In order to remove cypress from the swamp systemati

cally, the lumber industry built navigable connecting

canals, toward which "pull-boats" drug timber, leaving

visible scars. As the cypress was depleted, this practice

was terminated, leaving only the canals as evidence of this

economic activity.

Which conclusion of the logging period, the oil

industry began to discover petroleum and natural gas along

the coast. In their exploration programs, canals were

constructed to simplify the problems of drilling,

maintenance and logistics. These channels have become an

integral part of the landscape and, due to the constant

addition of well sites, the system continues to grow. This

canal network — partly by design — has become the

principal transportation system, in every regard, in the

state's oil-rich marsh and swamp.

xix


All these watercourses provided transportation links

into the alluvial wetlands. Regardless of the original

purpose, many canals were used in the movement of freight.

Private interests, in some cases, cut channels specifically

to serve the transport needs of the coastal communities;

on these routes tolls were collected. Community built

channels, on the other hand, were free.

Louisiana's coastal area is criss-crossed, ringed,

cut and otherwise dominated by a massive grid of man-made

canals. Interest, time, technology and population charac

teristics have changed, but canals endure, many for over

150 years. Their influence continues to have a decisive

and cumulative impact on the wetlands environment.

X X


INTRODUCTION

South Louisiana (Figure 1), according to a calcula

tion based on an analysis of topographic sheets at a scale

of 1:24,000 and 1:62,500, has an estimated 4,572 miles of

canals south of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (Barrett,

1970, p. 1). Since Barrett utilized maps which were out-

of-date and in addition excluded waterways north of the

Intracoastal Waterway, this figure only approximates the

magnitude of the canal system in south Louisiana. However,

it is useful because it provides some indication of the

extent of artifical waterways in "coastal Louisiana." This

essay is a survey of Louisiana's canals south of 30® north

latitude and coastward of the Prairie Terrace. It includes

the Chenier Plain, Deltaic Plain and a portion of the

Mississippi Alluvial Valley, an area greater than that

examined by Barrett (Figure 2).

Within this zone, canal construction has progressed

unchecked in resource development and utilization. Canals,

consequently, have become significant landscape features.

The objective of this study was to map the distribution and

explain the purpose and economic importance of these canals1


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Figure 2. Location of the principal environments within the study area. Map compiled from Newton (1972).

in a cultural-economic context; that is, the relationship

between man and the land as expressed in canals excavated

for resource exploitation. To understand this association

there is a need to comprehend the history of canal develop

ment, the economic activity of canal builders and the

configuration of the physical landscape. Concomitant with

the principal theme, two additional objectives have been

realized. Excavation techniques used in canal construction

are analyzed according to their influence on canal size;

also the importance of the canal as a culture element to

isolated settlements is considered wherever appropriate.


4

In that there has been little scholarly interest in

the evalution of the state's canal system, the available

literature is sketchy. Before the discovery of oil in the

coastal zone, the individuals responsible for the excavation

of the wetland canals did not record their construction

activity for its historic importance. To determine the

extent of the early canal network maps were used to compile

an inventory of the artificial waterways in the study area.

Old charts are defective and incomplete, but provide the

best available documentation. In that they do not identify

the canal's purpose, this information has been obtained

through the literature, personal interpretation and field

interviews.

It is hoped, through an explanatory-descriptive

treatment of the cultural-economic-physical factors related

to wetland canals, that an appreciation of the importance

of these landscape features in marsh-swamp resource develop

ment will be realized.

To understand the geographic growth and development

of canals, a classification has been devised according to

the nature of resource exploitation. This analytical scheme

consists of five canal types; agricultural, transportation,

trapping, logging and petroleum. These five categories are


arranged historically and, in general, show the develop

mental sequence of resource use and suggest the nature of

the changes which have occurred in the swamp and marsh

environments. In analyzing these historic shifts, the

discussion of canals begins in 1720, and continues to the

beginning of the petroleum period, about 1930. With the

discovery of petroleum and natural gas, the canal system

was expanded significantly. To document the petroleum

industry's dependence on artificial-waterways,.'six study

areas have been selected. These regions are representative

of the wetland environments and are used to indicate

changing canal patterns and the increase in total canal

mileage through time. Due to the complexity of the petro

leum industry's canal network, six case studies are presented

in order to reveal the extent of this canal type, along with

other types that may have been built by different use groups

prior to the petroleum period.

Ditches and Canals

In the traditional sense, a ditch is a long narrow

excavation dug in the earth for conveying water for drainage

or irrigation" (Webster, 1963, p. 661). The earliest

available maps indicate drainage channels were the first


artificial waterways utilizéâ in resource, exploitation.

They were built by the French for land drainage, but were,

in fact, multifunctional units, serving as drainage and

access channeIs.

It is true that ditches were important in increas

ing the state's agricultural output, but they were not

limited to the agricultural community. Many were construc

ted for transportation purposes. For example, coastal

dwellers cut small, narrow marsh passageways called

"pirogue trails" or traînasse (see Chapter III) to reduce

the difficulty of marsh travel. The ditch is more than a

channel for drainage or irrigation; it is a significant

factor in the marsh dwellers' systematic exploitation of

the environment and a prominent element in this process.

Canals, on the other hand, are "artificial water

ways used by people as a transportation link between points"

(Webster, 1963, p. 324). They are larger than the ditch

and serve more people. On the available maps the word,

"canal," first appears on Gauld's 1764 and 1778 sheets;

by 1817, the Reconnoitring Chart of the South Frontier of

the U.S.A. . . shows several waterways that were probably

excavated to simplify the movement of goods between the

agricultural areas west of Bayou Lafourche and the New


Orleans market (Anon., 1817, map). Recognizing the diffi

culties in shipping their products to market, planters in

the late 1700's and early 1800's, financed several canals.

(Darby, 1816, p. 101; Humphreys, 1861, p. 430). Schooners

and later freight-carrying steamers sailed these passages

to reduce travel time to the Mississippi and New Orleans

(Chapman, 1955, p. v; Mims, 1944, p. 24). These were

canals in the traditional sense and provided the basis for

the state's extensive network of man-made transportation

routes.

All navigable man-made channels will be included

in this paper if they are "navigable in fact." Under

Louisiana law "water bodies are navigable in fact when

they are so used or susceptible to such use, or shown to

be capable of commercial use" (Memorandum from Arthur

Smith). Consequently, if they are used for that purpose,

they are legally navigable and susceptible to the law.

This is the case with Louisiana's wetland canals. The

smallest ditch, although perhaps intended for drainage, if

used by commercial interests is a navigable waterway. A

channel, therefore, regardless of size, is navigable when

used in the shipment of commerce.


Marsh and Swamp Environments

Louisiana's marsh encompasses approximately four

million acres with a width of from 15 to 20 miles in the

western part of the state increasing to a maximum of

approximately 50 miles south of New Orleans (Chabreck,

1970, p. 1). This broad, flat, coastal zone is a result

of sediment accumulation associated with the alluvial

processes of the Mississippi River. For centuries,

Mississippi sediments have fanned out along the coast

producing two distinct regions: the Deltaic and Chenier

plains.

East of Vermilion Bay, the area is designated the

Deltaic Plain and is the site of seven deltaic lobes of

the Mississippi. Accumulation of material in this zone has

been a direct result of the building processes of a delta

system. West of Vermilion Bay, in the area called the

Chenier Plain, the developmental process has been different.

In this region, silts and clays from the Mississippi are

moved westward by longshore currents, resulting in an

accumulation of material along the coast which are stabilized

by the colonization of salt-tolerant vegetation (Chabreck,

1970, p. 7).


Vegetation and soils, in the two zones, differ

due to the varying rates of compaction and subsidence and

changes in salinity. The marsh in the Deltaic Plain,

unlike the Chenier Plain, is constantly changing, creating

an unstable vegetative cover. Much of the vegetative

type is called "flotant," which is "either truly floating

on water or supported by highly aqueous organic ooze"

(Russell, 1942, p. 79). In the Chenier Plain the marsh

soil is firm and can easily support a man.

The peat accumulations present no serious problems

to canal excavations. Engineering difficulties are at a

minimum; ditches and canals can be cut using hand tools

or powerful floating dredges.

The swamp is a different environment and, unlike

the marsh, there are canal excavation problems. The

luxuriant tree growth extends into the marsh along the

natural levees of the lowland rivers and bayous. In

places it is almost impenetrable. As a result, the growth

of trees, shrubs and vines reduces the excavation equip

ment's efficiency. To provide floating dredges with enough

room to dig a canal, explosives or draglines equipped with

special buckets are employed to clear the right-of-way.

Once a path is cut, a channel can be dug with ease.


10

The Total Canal System

Louisiana's marsh-swamp complex has experienced a

series of changes resulting from man's desire to obtain

the resources In these environments. In that the marsh

terrain presents no serious problems to canal construction;

canals are built at will. Thus, the system Is a dynamic

part of the landscape.

New canals are continually added, but old ones are

rarely filled In. Once a canal is cut. It remains for years

Theoretically, Its duration Is finite. Some channels,

however, have enlarged until they are now bayous. The only

Indications of human origin are their relationship to the

natural waterways and their physical character.

Since the 1930's, or with development of oil and

natural gas fields, the system has changed. Before 1930,

there were only a few large canals, most were constructed

by trappers and loggers and limited to small areas. The

demands of the oil Industry changed the system, larger

channels were required to marsh and swamp well sites. The

product of this activity was a labyrinth of oil field

waterways.


11

Canals have been instrumental in developing the

resources in the alluvial wetlands, but have also affected

drainage patterns, modified flora and fauna through altered

salinity regimes and contributed to land loss. As visible

landscape components, they are a reminder of man's ability

to change unknowingly the natural system, and will remain

on the landscape when the resources are no longer used or

exploited.


CHAPTER I

LOUISIANA'S DRAINAGE DITCHES: A METHOD OFAGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENT AND

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

The alluvial lands of the state are traversed in every direction by a network of bayous and lakes.They have been rescued from the swamp by levees, and rendered cultivable and productive by ditching.The soil is of unsurpassed richness and easy to cultivate. It needs no rest or variation of crops, nor manuring, to render it always productive. It is upon this soil the great agricultural system of Louisiana was developed with such brilliant result, in the profitable cultivation of the great staples, cotton, sugar and rice (Cottman, 1867, p. 22).

In the economic growth of the coastal zone, canals

were excavated by the French as early as 1720. In fact,

" . . . the earliest records of . . . French settlements

in Louisiana . . . are in a practical sense of a great

land reclamation project" (Harrison and Kollmorgan, 1947,

p. 666). Settlers constructed artificial watercourses

primarily to drain potential agricultural land. By 1724,

one landholder, across from New Orleans, had eight to 10

miles of canals on his plantation (Surrey, 1916, p. 33,

34) .12


13

Planters expanded their land by clearing, channel

izing and draining the backswamp. They accomplished this

by digging a main "outfall" canal — at least 12-feet-

wide and four-feet-deep — through the plantation. On the

1817 Reconnoitring Chart of the South Frontier of the U.S..A.

. . . there are 19 canals along the Mississippi, south of

New Orleans. Eleven years later, Delafield delineated

15 new channels and does not show nine of those that appear

on the 1817 map. Thirty-seven new additions appear on

Hughes 1842 chart, representing a substantial increase

over the original 19 (Figure 3).

These outfall canals, as well as those surroundingthe Mevees, furnished good means of transportation by boat, and often the flow of water . . . will be sufficient to keep them scoured out, so that they require little attention. Such transportation routes, connecting as they do, with a series of lakes, bayous and streams, place the various plantations in a comparatively independent attitude, so . . . they are still within easy and convenient reach of good markets (Morehouse, 1911, p. 272).

Plantation owners, between 1700 and the early 1800's

built multifunctional channels. Consequently, Bouligny,

Fesejno, Garnell, Hubert, Jamanville, Johnson, Laronde,

Larusles and Philippon canals, as shown on the 1817 chart,

were dual-purpose channels. They were used for travel, but

built for drainage. Samuel Lockett reports several of these


14

Orleans

i r chêrtmn

AVOM. D*API*LD o n a u u u . o a u n u KDoaai oB tau1817 1828 1888 1 * 2 i n ? 1821 1 * 2 1 * 2N.S. M.S. MilttMoAA i " ! * s M «ii K .i. M a a t« r K . i.

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8 .8 . - HOI SMWN U.M. - «MANMD •O tlM M a c t a«Md f . i . > KOI iW M U.K. - UOKiKiOr

Figure 3. The expansion of the canal system along theMississippi south of New Orleans, 1817 to 1842, Base map after Hughes (1842).


15

canals were four to five-feet-deep and provided access to

New Orleans (1870, p. 46). During periods of high water

many plantation channels were ineffective in removing flood

waters. To increase their efficiency, drain machines were

often used. This equipment straddled the central channel

and through a system of moving buckets discharged excess

water into the swamp, thus, removing the water and increas

ing the channels carrying capacity, but preventing it from

being used as a transportation route (Interview with Ben

Treadaway, December 17, 1971). As drain equipment gained

in popularity and steam improved its efficiency, the num

ber of drainage channels increased.

Along the Mississippi, where documentation of

plantation channels is quite good — Hughes' and Graham's

1842 maps show 52 canals south of New Orleans. Man-made

waterways were also built to drain the valuable soils

along Bayou Lafourche, Black, Terrebonne, Vermilion and

others. These watercourses were not mapped completely

until after the War between the States. Records, therefore,

on drainage ditches west of the Mississippi are limited.

Natural levees in this region were notable agricultural

areas and it can be assumed that drainage channels were

constructed. In fact, the 1859 records of the Swamp Land


16

Commission states that 57 Bayou Teche planters encouraged

the state to aid In draining their land (Caldwell, p. 106).

Caldwell's report suggests canals were constructed west

of Bayou Lafourche. However, no documentation has been

found that Indicates canal construction prior to Caldwell's

report.

Swamp Land Acts Encourages Drainage Improvements

All man-made drainage channels discharged Into basins

along the coast. Problems occurred when too much water was

added to the natural system. This happened In association

with land reclamation and the Increase In demand for suffi

cient drainage.

To alleviate the problem, the state through the

Swamp Land Act of 1849 and 1850, appropriated money to

"expand and Improve levees and drains." Under and Act of

Congress, approved March 3rd 1849, the state received all

swamp and "overflowed lands" which were unfit for cultiva

tion (p. 41). This land was granted to the state In sec

tion one of the Act, which stated;

Be It enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America In Congress assembled, that, to aid the State of Louisiana, In constructing the necessary levees and drains to reclaim the swamps and overflow lands


17

therein, the whole of the swamps and overflowed land, which may be or found unfit for cultivation, shall be and the same are hereby, granted to the State (p.41).

By surveying overflowed land "in wet weather or during the

time of spring flood" many tracts were listed as "impass

ible cypress swamp," when they were only flooded upland

(Defebaugh, 1907, pp. 374,375). All this land was a

potential source of revenue, which according to section two

of the Act must be "applied exclusively,as far as necessary,

to the construction of the levees and drains. . . . " (p. 41)

From the Swamp Land Act, DeBow's Review reported

Louisiana received 10,210,122.58 acres of swamp under the

Act of 1849 and 543,399.13 under the Act of 1850 (Anon.,

1852, p. 633), which clarified the land to be considered

"unfit for cultivation" (p. 141). The state donated "these

lands to the local levee boards which sold them at fifty-

cents or less an acre" (Defebaugh, 1907, p. 374), Income

received was placed in the Swamp Land Fund and invested in

improvement and construction of levees and drains.


18

State-Supported Projects

In South Louisiana, swamp-land money was invested

in wetland drainage improvements. In these areas, the

natural system often did not provide adequate drainage;

excess water, therefore, contributed to flooding. To

decrease the hazzard the state supplemented natural drains

with several artificial waterways which were, in most cases,

at least 30-feet-wide and four-feet-deep. The thought was:

If plantations can be drained by ditches, when they have fall. Parishes having the same facility can be drained by canals. One thing is certain the current through the canals already made is very strong. . . . Let no one then despair of the value of his property. . . . (Williams, 1848, p. 5)

This could be accomplished because:

The market price of the land is twenty-five cents an acre, and they may be made equal to any in the State by the use of modern steam dredging machines for canalling [sic] and leveeing them, and the improve wind mill pumps for draining them, for the breeze is constant near our coast, . . . lasting the greater part of the day, which greatly moderates the heat and tempers the cold (Robertson,1868, p. 12).

State-funded drainage canals were planned by state

engineers, to aid in land reclamation, reduce the effects of

floods and assist the drainage of private lands. To

accomplish these objectives, canals were often located


19

away from the areas drained. Their positions increased

runoff, decreased flood problems and generally aided

drainage. As an added benefit, they were used by flat-

boats in the shipment of plantation crops to market.

Examples of State-Supported Drainage Programs

Lafourche Valley

In 1853, George W. Morse, State Engineer, reported that:

By an examination in the Land Office, it was ascertained that the total amount of . . . lands affected by the overflow [sic] of Bayou Lafourche, exceeds eight hundred thousand acres; the greatest portion consists of low prairies or marshes, which must remain nearly valueless until reclaimed by drainage. As near as can be judged, there is of [sic] these swamp lands about fifty thousand acres which would probably be sold under provisions of existing laws, . . . if the overflow of the waters of the bayou can be arrested (p. 7).

To reduce flood damage and increase agricultural

land, the state, in 1850, contracted A. Alford and Company

to build a canal into Lake Boeuf, clean out Bayou Chegby

and Bayou Chevreil and cut a canal from Bayou Chevreil to

Bayou Verret (Caldwell, 1859, p. 61) (Figure 4). This

started a rather comprehensive state-supported drainage

plan for the basin. The justification for this work was

that :


20

LëCd0$ AUemêndt

L.BotufCenê!

Lockport

a Rose

Cut O ff

Grand Bayou Bay

Golden Meadow

LaCroix I

Figure 4. Principal early canals in the vicinity of Bayou Lafourche, the channels into Bayou Chevreil have been excluded because they no longer appeau: as canals. Base map after U.S. A m y Corps of Engineers (1966).

In many instances the lêinds of the front proprietors are rendered almost valueless by their want of drainage; the natural vent of the water being obstructed by growing and increasing vegetable deposits in scJitie contiguous marsh, which is inaccessable to the planter, and can only be removed by the aid of machinery . . . I will venture the assertion that with the proper machinery and 10 hands, in less than 30 days I could remove the obstructions [into Lake Boeuf] and give vent to the water; not only relieving the planters, but reclaiming a leurge amount of the adjacent lands (Williams, 1848, p. 45) .


21Hains' 1864 map indicates the Lake Boeuf channel

was completed, providing the necessary drainage to help

reduce flooding in the northern part of the Lafourche Basin.

The canal connecting Bayous Chevreil and Verret (now no

longer visible as a canal) was completed in 1859, furnish

ing "a direct outlet for all drainage waters from the head

of the valley of Lac des Allemands" (Caldwell, 1859, p. 63).

Drainage, therefore, between Donaldsonville and Lac des

Allemands was improved. These channels are over 100 years

old and continue to aid the region they were built to serve.

Five additional drainage projects were included in

the 1859 program and subsequently completed. They were:

(1) A canal from the south end of Lake Long to Grand

Bayou Bay and continuing to Bayou Jean Lacroix, (now an

important transportation route for the oil industry)

(Caldwell, 1859, p. 95). (2) A channel between State Cut-

Off Canal and Bayou des Amoureux, which was completed by

1892 (a small portion is still visible). (3) A connection

between Lake Salvador and Bayou Lafourche. (4) A water

course between Bayous Coquille and Vacherie (this canal is

on the 1892 quadrangle and difficult to trace today)

(Caldwell, 1859, p. 82). (5) A drainage outlet between

Bayou Rigolets and Bayou St. Denis (canal by-passed part of


22

Little Lake reducing travel by 11 wiles; consequently, it

became an important transportation route) (Caldwell, 1859,

p. 84) (Figure 4).

All these canals contributed to increased runoff.

The waterways through Grand Bayou Bay were particularly

significant. It was estimated they would "immediately

drain . . . the whole of the upper . . . valley, and . . .

reclaim . . . , the extensive bodies of swamp lands now

worthless, and benefit the whole of private property mostly

adopted for sugar" (Caldwell, 1859, p. 94). This amounted

to an estimated 208,514 acres of reclaimed land at a cost

of about $2.12/acre (Caldwell, 1859, p. 94). To planters

living along the reclaimed area, the channels were signifi

cant landscape additions.

West of Bayou Lafourche

West of Bayou Lafourche, drainage surveys were con

ducted on the "Grand Mauvais" swamp near Franklin, which is

bounded by Bayou Teche, Tortue and Vermilion. In July 1859,

land owners in St. Mary Parish wrote Lafayette Caldwell,

Commissioner for the Second Swamp Land District, explaining;

"That the draining of the Grand Mauvais is a work of the

greatest importance, and would remove a serious obstacle to


23

the prosperity of our parish" (p. 97, 98). Demand for

reclaimed land continued, with 57 planters encouraging

state engineers to "dig a canal from some point near . . .

Bayou Teche, in the rear of Franklin, to the bayous in the

Sea Marsh." By draining this area "a large tract of swamp

and high marsh would be brought into the market and become

a source of revenue to the Swamp Land Fund. . . . " (p. 106)

M. J. Thompson, in 1872, reported that the Grand

Mauvais canal had been approved, but not completed. Two

miles "were constructed by the State in 1860, with a base

of twenty-five feet . . . " and "it is proposed to bring

the rest of the canal to the same standard . . . ." (p. 13)

This region is now extensively cultivated, so apparently

the drainage project was successful. The extent of the

reclaimed land is unknown, owing to the absence of accurate

historic data.

These are a few of the projects supported by the

Swamp Land Fund. The canals were instrumentai in land

reclamation and significant elements in changing the agricul

tural geography of the alluvial wetlands. Drainage channels

were excavated to improve natural drainage and bring into

production potential agricultural land. The material

available, on these projects, is inadequate to estimate the


24

number of drainage-reclamation canals the state was

responsible for building. From the data in Caldwell's

report and current topographic maps, it is apparent many

waterways built between 1858 and 1859 are still landscape

features. They were excavated 113 years ago and continue

to provide drainage-transportation routes. Their age

testifies to the longevity of Louisiana's canals. They

were not temporary features, but permanent landscape

elements, indicating current wetlands canalization will

have a long-term environmental effect. Historic evidence

clearly indicates that once a canal is cut it endures.

Land Reclamation

In the decade before the War between the States,

private and state-supported flood programs had reached a

level of sophistication that " . . . hope could be held for

attempts to reclaim the marshlands" (Harrison and

Kollmorgan, 1947, p. 667). Some wealthy planters extended

their land holdings into the swamp and marsh. New Orleans

expanded " . . . the area under pump and laid elaborate

plans for enlarging the adjoining potential residential

areas. . . . " (Harrison and Kollmorgan, 1947, p. 669) In

1843, the Report of the State Engineer, M. G. Penn, reveals

that:


25By . . . act of the state legislature it is the

duty of the State Engineer to report on the most feasible plan for draining the low lands back of the city of New Orleans.

The importance of this cannot be too highly appreciated, when we take into consideration that by effectually [sic] draining the low lands that surround the city, not only her highly favored position for commerce will be greatly improved and her limits extended, but that also the prevalence of the Yellow Fever, will, it is confidently anticipated, be driven from our otherwise healthy and beautiful city to accomplish this end, I would respectively recommend the plan pursued by almost every intelligent and prudent planter, . . . (p. 3).

Early maps (Banks and others) show that by 1863 the city

was being drained by a well developed network of canals and

ditches (Figure 5).

Figure 5. New Orleans canal network, after Banks (1863)


26

In Orleans Parish, dikes, pumps and canals were con

structed as early as 1846, resulting in reclaimed land that

was planted in Sea Island cotton (Harrison and Kollmorgan,

1947, p. 669). This type of program was limited to small

areas and continued until the War between the States.

After the War

. . . many of the attempts at reclamation were tidelands projects. This proximity to the coast made them very vulnerable to storms. The wave of reclamation which came after 1900 centered farther inland on marshes not quite so vulnerable to Gulfwinds and high tides. Many of the techniquesdeveloped in the tideland projects were, however, later carried out in the more inland swamp and marshland reclamation which began in Louisiana about 1900 (Harrison and Kollmorgan, 1947, p. 674).

Between 1870 and 1890, interest in land reclamation

increased. In 1878, the "State Legislature chartered the

Louisiana Land Reclamation Company . . . , which reclaimed

13,000 acres in the coastal area of Terrebonne Parish"

(Harrison and Kollmorgan, 1947, p. 671). Land improvement

was accomplished through a well organized system of canals

and levees. Steam dredges increased the company's effici

ency in excavating the required levees and canals. "Later

the land was broken by cable plows operated by the engines

of . . . steam dredging machines which floated in canals

at opposite sides of the fields" (Harrison and Kollmorgan,

1947, p. 671).


27

Many writers assume South Louisiana reclamation

projects began about 1907. Charles W. Okey, stresses this

date, stating: "Previous to 1907 there had been no active

movement in the drainage of the wet prairie lands of

Louisiana" (1918, p. 21). Records show this is incorrect.

Marsh reclamation is an old practice, dating back to French

colonization. From this beginning, considerable experience

has been gained in the proper methods to be employed in

land reclamation.

Organized marsh development programs waited until

after 1900, when enterprising northern investors purchased

large tracts of what was considered "worthless" marsh.

They were going to dike, drain and reclaim this land for

agriculture and pasture, transforming the coast into a

series of polders. The most enthusiastic supporter of the

program was Edward Wisner.

Reclamation projects developed after 1900 were, to

a large degree, inspired and carried out by Wisner through

Louisiana Meadows Company and affiliated organizations.

Paying 12-1/2 cents an acre, he held at one time almost

1,500,000 acres of land bordering the coast (Harrison and

Kollmorgan, 1947, p. 677). He was so confident of the


28

feasibility of developing Louisiana's swamp and marsh that

he was certain he would succeed, saying:

Judging from the progress that is being made in reclaiming land by the Louisiana Meadows Company and its branch concerns, and with the assistance of others interested in these matters, all present swamp in Louisiana will be drained in a comparatively short time (Harrison and Kollmorgan, 1947, p. 682).

This did not happen; of approximately 50 reclamation pro

jects completed, only four major ones are still productive.

Equipment Used in Reclamation Programs

To perform the work required in building drainage

canals, two basic types of equipment were used: steam

bucket dredges and draglines. Using a bucket dredge,

large channels were excavated. Draglines were employed in

digging smaller channels, like the laterals often connect

ing into the main canal. Both tools leave a distinct

"continuous embankment of spoil on one or both sides of

the excavation" (Gagliano, 1971, p. 4) and were the princi

pal machines used in drainage channel work.

Steam Bucket Dredges

Steam bucket or dipper dredges consist of a bucket

attached to a long handle, or boom, mounted to a cabin on a

barge-type hull (Simon, 1920, p. 1) (Figure 6). Operating

like a dry-land steam shovel, a bucket dredge operator


29

lowers the bucket into the proposed cut, filling it, booms

up and swings to the spoil embankment depositing the

material. Continuing the process, the machine advances

in the cut, excavating the canal.

To channelize a section of marsh or swamp, float

ing dredges are required. In areas where there is a great

deal of standing timber and sunken logs "a dipper dredge

is the best machine for cutting the canals — at least for

taking out the top 4 or 5 feet" (Okey, 1918, p. 44). To

cut a channel in this environment it is best to dig the

canal in sections, "allowing the banks and the material

excavated the first time over to solidify before placing

an additional load on them" (Okey, 1918, p. 44).

When the prairie is free from stumps, or where the stumps have been taken out of the way with a dipper dredge, a long-boom, gravity-swing, orange- peel bucket dredge is a very satisfactory means of cutting such canals. This disturbs the material much less than does a dipper dredge, and the canal cut with the orange-peel bucket will be much freer of soft mud than one cut with the dipper dredge. . . (Okey, 1918, p. 44).

Although barge-mounted draglines (Figure 7) and

orange-peel buckets (Figure 8) improved dredging efficiency,

the bucket dredge was the first type used in coastal canal

work. As early as 1835, this equipment was employed in

channel excavation and became the workhorse in canal


30construction (Rosseau, p. 4). In fact, the state in 1856,

had two dredges constructed at a cost of $40,000 each

(Hebert, p. 10).

Private contractors, such as J. H. Harvey, often

built their dredges at the job site. In 1859, construc

tion of Harvey Cut-Off was delayed because the dredge boat

had to dig its way out of the canal where it was assembled

(Caldwell, p. 84). Prior to the War between the States,

there were a number of steam dredges operating in coastal

waters. As people began to increase their agricultural

land, new canals were required. This was particularly true

in attempts at marsh and swamp reclamation. Since the

dipper dredge had been used so successfully in canal work,

it was, with a few refinements, the logical choice in

reclamation work.

Draglines

Draglines, unlike steam dredges, were employed in

digging small ditches. This machine operates by using a

bucket to remove material from the channel, which, when

full, is raised clear of the water and dumped on either

side of the cut (Simon, 1920, p. 1). In that the machine

is outfitted with a crawler undercarriage it can move on

land. This is one of the benefits in using a dragline.


31

because when equipped with the correct length of boom and

bucket it is a highly efficient excavating machine (Figure

9). Due to its low cost and operating expense, it is an

ideal tool for the numerous small drainage channels

associated with farming.

Reclamation Techniques

Wetlands reclamation was based on a system of levees,

internal drains and pumping plants. Once the area to be

reclaimed was defined, a large "dredge-boat canal," at

least 25-feet-wide and five-feet-deep, was constructed

around the projects perimeter. In building these canals

the spoil was used as a protective levee, with a height of

five to six feet and a top width up to 12 feet. When the

boundary canals and levees were completed, the internal

drainage network was constructed (Merry, 1910, p. 13).

A good example of this technique exists at Des

Allemands where reservoir canals were cut through the

projects interior to insure adequate drainage. Adjoining

these reservoir channels were "collecting" ditches of

somewhat smaller size — about four-feet-wide and three-

feet-deep — as opposed to the main canals, which were from

10 to 20-feet-wide and up to eight-feet-deep (Harrison and

Kollmorgan, 1947, p. 680) (Figure 10). This system of


Figure 6. Bucket dredge engaged in channel maintenance .

Figure 7. Barge-mounted dragline with a clamshell bucket on the deck.

Figure 8. Extra heavy orange- peel bucket (Simon,p. 8).

Figure 9. Small dragline equipped with a standard dragline bucket.


milesParadi

CenalNaS

\ Canal No. 22 Canal No.4

Canal No.SCanal No. 19

Canal Na 6Canal Na 18

Canal No. 7Canal Na 17Canal NalS

Canal No 8

Canal Na ISDes

AllemandsCanal No

Canal No. 14 Burthen

Cana! Na 13

No. 11

Figure 10, Reclamation project at Des Allemands. Base map after U.S.G.S. Hahnville Quadrangle (1969).


34

internal ditches was deep enough for navigation, providing

the farmer with a transportation network (Figure 11).

Erosion caused by boat traffic and the tendency of mud or

silt to accumulate in the canals resulted in. maintenance

problems. Clearing ditches of soft mud and accumulated

vegetation was a costly procedure, requiring large floating

dredges or draglines capable of removing the debris.

Figure 11. Farmer using a reclamation canal for transportation purposes. (Thomson, p. 45).


35

Drainage Projects; Successes and Failures

Avoca Island, Bayou Terre Aux Boeuf, Caernarvon,

Clovelly Farms, Delta Farms, Des Allemands, Golden Meadow,

Gueydan and Lafitte were a few of the attempts at marsh

reclamation. These projects, along with about 40 others

(Figure 12) were laid out in similar patterns; the land

scape becoming a system of interconnecting channels. The

problem was they were constructed in areas where the land

was frequently inundated by storm surges, or channel in

filling was so great it was too expensive to maintain the

canals and levees. As a result, the large, ordered system

of polders proved unsuccessful and the projects generally

failed. The canals remain as the only evidence of the

state's experience in marsh reclamation. The canal system

within the reclamation projects at Clovelly Farms, Des

Allemands, Gueydan and the Raceland Prairie have been

maintained. Through extensive drainage and pumping pro

grams these are the only projects still productive; the

only four that succeeded.

Organized drainage plans have also been effective

around New Orleans. Through time, drainage canals have

become an integral part of the total land utilization


Lake Charles j (Jennings»

'^■^lutracwsîal

Gueydan»

Grand Chenier Vinmwm BjjPecan Island

M

Î.

1.2.I:

k

I:9.10.

11.12.

\ k17.

J Lmil**

ifReclamatic

(From

Lake Charles Puatping P la n t-Grand C henier- Surveys and plans completed fo r p ro jec t Gueydan- P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te dA tchafa laya Bay- Surveys and plans completed fo r projeAvoca Is la n d - P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te dUpper Terrebonne- P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te dRaceland- Surveys and plans completed fo r p ro je c tRaceland P r a ir ie - C u ltiv a te dRaceland P r a i r ie - Construction s ta rte dSmithport P la n ta t io n - C u ltiv a te dLake F ie ld s - Surveys and plans comoleted fo r p ro je c t Raceland P r a ir ie - Surveys and plans completed fo r pro j Des Allemands- Surveys and plans completed fo r p ro je c t Des Allemands- P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te d New Orleans Neatherlands C o .- P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te d Des Allemands- Surveys and plans completed f o r p ro je c t Des Allemands- P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te d


ATON ROUGE

PJaqueininc \

Lafayette Charles ) (Jennings* Likv ruHuk

Donaldsonville WtMhiiPP'Gueydan New fbenaeC;^

racouitsii NapoleonvilleVirrtt

ThibodauxAIrfMîî FranklinGrand Chenier

Pecan Island

Vi rmuioH Bj)

Marsh Island

AhbéfMjé By

S M U Ttrrihfi mri Î & V®V)tn

Reclamation Projects, circa 1917(From Okey, 1918, p. 3)

Hit»”tnd plans completed f o r p ro je c t liva tedrs and plans completed fo r p ro je c tr c u lt iv a te d.a l ly c u lt iv a te d)lans completed fo r p ro je c t.vatedÎructio n s ta rte d C ultivatedid plans completed fo r p ro je c t jys and plans completed fo r p ro je c t and plans completed fo r p ro je c t

.y c u lt iv a te di C o .- P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te d and plans completed fo r o ro je c t y c u lt iv a te d

18. Gheens- C u ltiv a ted19. D e lta Farms- P a r t ia l ly c u l t i20. C lo v e lly Farms- Construction21. Golden Meadow Farms- Constru22. P o n tc h artra in - C u ltiv a te d23. P o n tc h artra in - Surveys and p24. Willswood P la n ta tio n - C u ltiv25. P laquem ine-Jefferson- P a r tia26. L a f i t t e - P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te27. Bayou P e ro t- Construction st28. Caernarvon- P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv29. Caernarvon- Construction sta30. S h e ll Beach- Construction st31. Bayou Terre Au Boeuf- p a r t ia 32i Bayou Terre Au Boeuf- Consti 33, Venice- P a r t ia l ly c u ltiv a te d


ATON ROUGE

Plaquemine UktSUuftpéLikv PunUbitftrdiu

Donaldsonville

Nariol

\\twtiilPP>

NEWORLEA V \ ^ ChttudvUhTs«//wNapoleonville

Thibodaux

Morgan City

AhbéfdUyé &i>

Leevtlle

I TmthnnHe Z ^ "r . . /

:ts, circa 1917 18, p. 3)

18.19.20. 21. 22.ll\

I t27.28.29.30.31. 32; 33.

Gheens- C u ltiv a te d D e lta Farms- P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te d C lo v e lly Farms- Construction s ta rte d Golden Meadow Farms- Construction s ta rte d P o n tc h a rtra in - C u ltiv a te dPont chart r a in - Surveys and plans completed f o r p ro je c tWillswood P la n ta tio n - C u ltiv a te dP laquem ine-Jefferson- P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te dL a f i t t e - p a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te dBayou P e ro t- Construction s ta rte dCaernarvon- P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te dCaernarvon- Construction s ta rte dS h e ll Beach- Construction s ta rte dBayou Terre Au Boeuf- P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te dBayou Terre Au Boeuf- Construction s ta rte dVenice- P a r t ia l ly c u lt iv a te d


37

New Orleans Lokefront

Airport

\

Figure 13, New Orleans East, 1917 and 1967, from Okey, 1918, pp. 27 and 39 and U.S.G.S. Little Woods emd Spanish Fort Quadrangles, 1967 and 1965.


38

pattern within the urban environment. They have been a

significant element in contributing to the city's expansion

by allowing people to build on reclaimed land (Figure 13).

Other projects failed, but many of their canal

networks are now important transportation routes. As a

result, they have not filled in, but enlarged, to provide

commercial fishermen and sportsmen with marsh-access routes.

These projects represent a desire to increase

agricultural land through reclamation. Swamp and marsh

bordering natural levees is still being diked, channelized

and pumped dry, thereby, bringing marginal land into

production and increasing farm and pasture land (Figure 14).

Figure 14. Current rice reclamation project, located on the fringes of the marsh south of Abbeville, indicating the orderly network of canals and levees.


39

Drainage Canals - A Summary

Beginning with the French, Louisiana's agricultural

productivity expanded through marsh and swamp reclamation.

In the 1700's, the French and travelers passing through

Louisiana remarked on the feasibility of reclaiming land,

or expanding agricultural production by increasing the

plantation's system of drains. Swamp was cleared, drained

and planted. Land owners, by 1850, enthusiastically sup

ported drainage programs.

Agricultural land increased with land reclamation.

Today, marginal areas are diked and drained, continuing the

process. Land development is occurring along natural

levees where the swamp can be cleared. Marsh is reclaimed

in the rice areas north of the Chenier Plain; small

polders are also drained as pasture in other regions.

Large drainage schemes have been abandoned, leaving as

evidence of their existence a distinctive canal pattern. A

few, such as Clovelly Farms and Des Allemands, remain. The

others either failed completely, were partially successful,

or are now part of the suburbs of New Orleans.


40

Canals, such as Ardoyne, Ashland, Brazen, Dredge

Boat, Lapeans, Laurel Grove, Minors, Reggio and Wilkinson

were excavated as plantation outflow channels. All were

additions to the total system and the fact that they remain

on the landscape attests to their use. Other plantations

constructed canals, which also served as drainage outlets.

These channels have endured and with the clearing of new

land the system continues to expand.


CHAPTER II

TRANSPORTATION CANALS

Movement of goods by water has long been an integral

part of the transportation geography of Louisiana's alluvial

wetlands. From the days of the bateau and the pirogue to

the steamboat to the present people have depended on the

intricate system of connecting rivers, bayous, lakes and

deep channels as effective routes for moving their commodi

ties to market. Natural waterways provided the major

shipping routes, but to increase the efficiency of this

system and reduce travel time, canals were constructed

Louisiana's coastal drainage is generally oriented

in a north-south direction, making east-west movement diffi

cult (Figure 1). To rectify this situation, canals were

excavated as connective links between navigable bayous.

These additions improved the transportation system and became

significant travel routes, resulting in a network of natural

and artificial marsh-swamp passages (Figure 15).

Evaluating the expansion of transportation canals

was a problem, because all man-made waterways were potential41


LahiyetttLake Charles ) (Jennings*

Gueydan*New IbertaaQ

J\ ’ ^ t iitra a ta s > td i ^

Mrrm*ZGrand Chenier \

Pecan Island •

ri rmtltfin &fi

Marsh Islanc

Imile»

j?Louisiana’s PrincipBase Map After U.S. Ai

1, A lg ie rs Canal2 , Attakapas Canal3 , B a ra ta ria Bay Waterway4 , Caminada Bay Canal*5 , Canal B e l l i s ie *6, Canal de G e n t il ly *7, Canal Hunning to the Southern Lakes*

Charenton iT a v i'-itio n Canal C u t-O ff Canal Delcainbre Canal O oullu ts Canal

12, F ra n k lin CanalFreshwater Bayou Gulf O u tle t Grand Bayou Canal Grand C a illo u Canal Grays Canal

S .9.

10.11.


N ROUGE

PlaquemiI

LanyecitLake Charles Jenmngs# Lttkv rm

Donaldsonville WmhuPPfGueydan New Iberia \

Napoleonville3\ tal\ V----- *1 AlUmundi

Al.fggGrand Chenier

Thibodaux

Vifmbttit &t>|l|M o rsan Ci

LockportPecan Island

La RoseSfc HoumaMarsh Island CuiOff

AtibéféUyé Bay

V K

Louisiana’s Principal Transportation CanalsBase Map After U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1966)

Canal 17.IS Canal 18..a Bay Waterway 19.I Bay Canal* 20.î l l i s l e * 21.i G e n t il ly * 22,Hiding to the Southern Lakes*>n N rv l^ it lo n Canal 24.Canal•e Canal 2o.! Canal 27.L Canal 28.1er Bayou Gulf O u tle t 29.lyou Canal 30.l l l o u Canal 31.nn l 32.

Gulf In fcracoastal Waterway (G,]Harvey CanalHouma N avigation CanalJean P la isance CanalLake Borgne CanalLake Charles Ship ChannelM iss iss ip o i H iver Gulf O utle tOld In trk c o a s ta l WaterwayO s tric a CanalPanama CanalPlaquemi n e -Morgan C ity A lternai Hobinson Canal Saltworks Canal*Terrebonne Canal (Southwest Lo' Wax Lake O utle t Wood Yard Canal*

* Aonroximate Location


î.),).L .2.

i:?.3.9.d.L.2.

TON ROUGE

UàeMMrràtiPlaquemi

Ldkv Pontcbartfain

Donaldsonviile

àyp-

CbiittJvUur •NEWORLEA

Napoleonville S OH Ht/mriAIUkuwJ

Thibodaux

IJ l^o rg a n CiLockpon

\La Rose

CufOff'« yTH H ouma

An ké/Myé ByMeadow

Venice

S XM t ^W'tM &,)

nsportation Canalsirps of Engineers (1966)

Gulf In tra c o a s t-al Waterway (G . I .W.W, )Harvey Canal Houma N avigation Canal Jean P la isance Canal Lake Borgne Canal Lake Charles Ship Channel M iss iss ip o i R iver Gulf O utle t Old In tra c o a s ta l Waterway O s tric a Canal Panama CanalPlaquemine-Morgan C ity A lte rn a te Houte - G,I.W.W. Robinson Canal Saltworks Canal*Terrebonne Canal (Southwest Louis iana Canal)Wax Lake O utle t Wood Yard Canal*

* Anoroximate Location


42&

Figure 15.


43

arteries of commerce. Only a few were built exclusively

for commercial traffic; most were constructed for other

purposes. That is, their primary function was to aid in

developing the state's agricultural, mineral, forest and

fur resources. They served, secondarily, as transport

routes and would not be on the landscape if local re

sources had not been exploited.

The Evolution of Louisiana's Transportation Canals

Gauld's 1764 and 1778 coastal surveys, along with

a 1770 unsigned chart, were the first maps located to name

a waterway a "canal." Gauld's maps show two named channels,

"Canal Bellisle," located on the Mississippi's east bank

north of New Orleans and, on the west bank near the present

city of Vacherie, the "Canal running into the Southern

Lakes" (Figure 16). These channels provided a route from

the Mississippi into Lake Pontchartrain and Lac des Alle

mands. Also, the 1770 map shows a "Canal de Gentilly"

south of New Orleans, connecting the Mississippi's east bank

with Bayou Boeuf (Figure 17). These were the first named

canals to appear on historic maps. Since theyr were impor- v tant enough to be included on these charts, it is possible

they were the first coastal transportation canals.


44

A '

w/

miles

Approx. Scale

Figure 16. Canal running tothe Southern Lakes and Canal Bellisle, after Gauld (1778).

Figure 17. Canal deGentilly, after Anon. (1770).

N. M. Surrey reports that on the lower Mississippi

the French constructed canals for two reasons: to make a

direct route to the Gulf, and to join the Mississippi with

the bayous at the rear of settlements. In fact, to reduce

travel time the "entrepreneur to public works (entrepreneur

des travaux: du roi) established a water connection between

New Orleans and Barataria Bay’ (1916, p. 33).

, . . This canal, twenty-five feet wide and a little more than three leagues long, was finished in 1739 and by 1741 the colony was deriving considerable


45

benefit from it through the exploration of lumber over this route. As early as 1723 it vas proposed to construct a canal between St. Jean Bay and Lake Pontchartrain. The work was begun in 1728; but it was some years later before there was a direct waterway through canal, lake and stream between the capital and Mobile (Surrey, 1916, p. 34).

From this account, it is apparent the French were

building transportation waterways; the three channels shown

on the 1758, 1770 and 1778 maps were probably constructed

to aid in the movement of their commerce. Surrey documents

that a canal was built to connect New Orleans and Barataria

Bay. Information, however, is not provided on its location.

Historic maps suggest the "Canal running to the Southern

Lakes" may be the original French waterway. Until the

1800's, it was the only mapped canal on the Mississippi's

west bank providing a link between the River and Lac des

Allemands. Using the lakes and bayous connecting into Lac

des Allemands, traffic could gain access into Barataria Bay

and the Gulf.

Canal Bellisle and Gentilly appear only on the

1768 and 1770 surveys, but the canal into Lac des Allemands

is noted on all coastal charts up to 1842. Historic records

indicate this canal remained open for approximately 120

years. Whether it was the original French route into

Barataria Bay, is difficult to say, but its longevity and

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited withoutpermission.

46location suggest that it was. Hence, it was the first

important transportation canal in Louisiana

Attakapas Canal

By 1816, two additional transportation canals had

been added to the landscape. The Attakapas Canal providing

a connective link between Bayou Lafourche and Lake Verret

(Figure 18) and Harvey Canal from the Mississippi to Bayou

Barataria (Darby, 1816, map). Along with the canal into

Lac des Allemands, these two man-made waterways became

significant transport routes.

Planters along Bayou Teche, using shallow-draft

vessels shipped agricultural commodities through Attakapas

Canal into Bayou Lafourche, by-passing the longer more

dangerous passage through the Gulf. In 1835, Benjamin

Buisson, State Engineer, reported the Attakapas Canal "is

a small stream through which a part of the high waters of

bayou Lafourche run to lake Verrett [sic] but, by straighten

ing and widening the channel it could be transformed into a

major steamboat route" (p. 7), Buisson implies the channel

was not a significant route. The project to improve the

canal never materialized, because as the number of coastal

waterways increased, other routes were used. By 1862, the


47

Attakapas Canal "had passed Into oblivion and only the

memories of its appearance lingured [sic]" (Chapman, 1955,

p. 95).

Harvey Canal

Harvey Canal was started in 1737 as a five-mile

water route from the Mississippi south to Bayou Barataria

(Figure 19). "This [canal] was probably an enlargement of

a drainage ditch which the records tell us existed as early

as 1724, and which have borne considerable small boat

traffic" (Dabney, 1941, p. 86). The canal was dug by

German immigrants using hand tools and draft animals. In

fact, Louisiana's German coast was partially settled by men

who received small farms for their work on the channel.

Samuel Lockett's 1870 coastal survey states that

between Barataria Bay and New Orleans

there is an extensive trade by water through the bayous and [sic] 1853 there were small steamboats and over a hundred lugger boats engaged in trade.. . . The principal of these routes and from which four to six feet can be taken is either Bayou St. Denoris or Grande Bayou from the N.W. corner of the bay to Little Lake, thence by Bayou Perot to Lake Washa and thence by canal entering the Mississippi nearly opposite Carrolton, about ten miles above New Orleans; the whole distance being about sixty- five miles (p. 45).


48

apolconvillc

A

Grandi

Lake

Figure 18. Attakapas Canal, from Anon. (1817)

T New Orleans

GrandLaka.

Figure 19. Harvey Canal, from Leach and Turtle (1887).


49

From this description, it is obvious that prior to

the War between the States considerable traffic was using

Harvey Canal as a by-pass into the bays and bayous south

of New Orleans.

In 1907, the canal was connected by a lock 135-

feet-long, 30-feet-wide and seven-feet-deep into the

Mississippi (Dabney, 1941, p. 90). Based on tonnage,

Harvey Canal and Land Improvement Company collected a toll

for use of the locks. Vessels under 50 gross tons paid

30 cents/ton, 50 to 100 gross tons 14 cents/ton and over

100 tons the fee was reduced to 10 cents/ton (Louisiana

Board of Commissioners, 1922, p. 13). The Company continu

ed to collect a fee until March 10, 1924, when the Federal

government purchased the canal for $500,000. They improved

the channel and subsequently included it in the Gulf Intra

coastal Waterway (Louisiana Board of Commissioners, 1922,

p. 90) .

The current lock (Figure 20), dedicated on March 26,

1934, replaced the brick and wood structure and increased

the canals dimensions to 425 feet long, 75 feet wide and 12

feet deep (Louisiana Board of Commissioners, 1922, p. 13).

Harvey's Canal is at least 235 years old and its

continuous use is an indicator of its importance in freight


50

movement. Available historic material suggests this is the

oldest major artificial waterway in Louisiana. Although

the Federal government shifted the locks a few hundred

yards in 1935 (Interview with J. Rosco, March 13, 1971),

it is essentially the same route built by German immigrants

in 1737.

Figure 20. The Harvey Canal gate into the lock between the channel and the Mississippi.

Other Canals

Maps drafted between 1817 and 1842, denote a number

of plantation canals bordering the Mississippi south of New

Orleans. By 1842 there were at least 52 of these waterways

(Figure 3). Only two, however, were apparently built


51

exclusively for transportation — Barataria and Harvey

(also called Destrehan). Others varied in width from six

to 12 feet, large enough for a pirogue or flatboat, but

not a freight-carrying steamboat. Traffic from Bayou

Lafourche sailed through a canal into "Lake Ouatcha"

(Lake Salvador), called the "Way from La Fourche to New

Orleans" (Figure 21), indicating that by 1817 it was a

significant transportation route (Anon., 1817, pap).

Later named Harang's Canal, and now a part of the Gulf

Intracoastal Waterway, this channel has, for 155 years,

provided an east-west link between New Orleans and Bayou

Lafourche. Three other Bayou Lafourche-linked canals —

Lake La Fourche (Lake Boeuf), Lake Fields and Bayou L'eau

Bleue — were possible transportation channels, especially

the route into Lake La Fourche (Anon., 1817, map) (Figure

22). By using the canal into Lake La Fourche, boats gained

access to Lac des Allemands and the "Canal running to the

Southern Lakes"therefore, by-passing the navigational

difficulties associated with the Gulf and minimizing those

along the Mississippi. Other channels may have been used by

local traffic, but they did not connect into a larger system

of natural or artificial channels.


52

New OrU

ForcHe

Figure 21. The "Way from La Fourche to New Orleans," from Anon. (1817).

A " e T a - \ d

I

Figure 22. Early Bayou Lafourche-linked canals, from Anon. (1817)


53

Between 1730 and 1820 concerned citizens were build

ing canals between natural waterways to improve east-west

trade. After 1820, tyhese first canals were incorporated

into a more extensive transportation system.

By 1840, the Lake Field channel became a segment of

Barataria Canal, connecting New Orleans and Morgan City;

the Lake Salvador channel was apparently not used after

completion of Barataria Canal. In 1872, it was again in

use, extending from Bayou Lafourche northeast, a distance

of six miles to Lake Salvador, eventually becoming a

portion of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (Forshey and

Thompson, 1873, p. 44). These transport routes, after 155

years or more, continue to serve the needs of coastal

shipping. The canal between Lac des Allemands and the

Mississippi was not used after 1842, but the other two

channels remain as significant waterways.

From this first transportation network, and with the

introduction of steam dredging equipment, new canals were

added. By 1818, someone had cut a canal between Bayou

Lafourche and Caminada Bay (Ludlow, 1818, map) (Figure 23).

Gadsdan C1818) calls this a bayou and Hughes (1842) does not

show any channel. If this was a canal, and became a bayou

through natural enlargement, it was the first east-west


54

Figure 23. Caminada Bay Canal, from Ludlow (1818).

Figure 24. First mapped canal west of Bayou Teche, from Ludlow (1818).


55connection along the lower Lafourche, predating, by at

least 70 years, any other transportation channels in this

area. It may also be the first documentation of a canal

losing its man-made characteristics to become a bayou.

Bayou Teche Canals

The first canal mapped west of Bayou Teche was a

small channel connected to a salt works in the vicinity

of Avery Island (Ludlow, 1818, map) (Figure 24). No canals

were apparently cut between the Teche and the extensive

natural waterways in the Atchafalaya Basin. This is under

standable, in that it was not until April, 1825, that the

steamboat Louisville successfully navigated the treacherous

waters of Bayou Plaquemine below Baton Rouge, sailed through

the Atchafalaya Basin and up Bayou Teche to St. Martinville.

The trip established a means of low-cost transportation be

tween the trade centers of western Louisiana and the ports

along the Mississippi (Attakapas Gazette, April 16, 1825).

Prior to the development of the steamboat, freight

was shipped aboard sailboats, flatboats and pirogues. The

steamboat changed the method of cargo transport and the

traffic patterns used in the origin and destination of

coastal trade. It could carry more cargo over routes

previously inaccessible. By 1850, Franklin acted as a


56distribution center for plantation products along Bayou

Teche. "Ships from Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Rich

mond, Galveston, Jamaica, Bermuda, Vera Cruz, Havana and

Matagorda lined her wharves" (DeGrummond, 1949, p. 53).

Along with functioning as a port of entry for ships

representing the Atlantic and Gulf markets, "four steam

boats regularly plied the route between New Orleans and the

Attakapas area" (DeGrummond, 1949, p. 54). These vessels

used a waterway developed in the 1830's — Barataria Canal.

For 50 years this was the principal watercourse between

Bayou Teche and New Orleans.

Barataria Waterway

This transportation system, composed of natural and

artificial waterways, provided a continuous watercourse from

Morgan City to New Orleans. The canal is first shown on

Graham and Tanner's 1834 Map of Louisiana as the "Grand

Caillou Canal" (Figure 25), later referred to as "Barataria

Canal" (Graham, 1838: Hughes, 1842, maps) or "Company of

Barataria Canal" (Leach and Turtle, 1887, map). Today it is

called "Company Canal," (the section into the Mississippi

is referred to as Westwego Canal, now closed) which probably

comes from the Barataria and Lafourche Canal Company who were

responsible for the channel excavation (Rosseau, 1835, p. 3).


57

4LtkàSa/vM brl

Figure 25. Grand Caillou Canal (Now called Company Canal) connecting the Atchafalaya River with Lake Salvador, providing a continuous watercourse from Morgan City to New Orleans, from Graham and Tanner (1834).

The January 15, 1835, Report of the Board of Public

Works of the State of Louisiana states :

The Barataria and Lafourche canal . . . is now open for small craft, from the Mississippi to lake Barataria . . . it appears that the canal is finished to within about seven miles of the bayou Lafourche. One third of the distance will be through timbered land and cypress swamps, the balance of prairie, easily excavated, on the west side of the Lafourche. Four cuts of about three quarters of a mile each will carry the canal through lake Mercier and lake Long to the bayou Terrebonne; the route proposed follows up this bayou eight miles, which will have to be deepened, and widened to double its present width the whole distance; thence a


58

cut of about one mile long will reach the nead waters of the bayou Black: by deepening, widening and improving this bayou, a distance of from sixteen to eighteen miles will carry the canal to navigable water leading to Berwick's Bay: the completion of thiscanal, so as to give an outlet to the settlements on the Terrebonne and Caillou, must add greatly to the convenience and prosperity of the inhabitants of that part of the parish of Terrebonne (Rosseau, pp. 4, 5).

However, between 1835 and 1847, it appears this

waterway was being " . . . permitted to languish" (Williams,

1848, p. 40). The channel was filling with organic

deposits. "This would not be the case if the thoroughfare

were free for boats, which would so agitate the water as

to prevent all vegetative build up" (Williams, 1848, p. 40).

To mcike the channel navigable locks would have to be placed

on Bayou Lafourche. This was done in 1852 at the city of

Lockport (Morse and Wooldridge, 1853, p. 1).

By 1922, the waterway was owned by R. R. Barrow,

who charged vessels under 50 gross tons a fee of 30 cent/ton,

50 to 100 gross tons 14 cents/ton and over 100 tons the toll

was reduced to 10 cents/ton, which was the same fee charged

on the Harvey locks and maintained the competition between

the two canals (Louisiana Board of Commissioners, 1922, p.

12) .With completion of this channel and opening of the

route through the Atchafalaya, steamboat-carried freight


59

increased. Steamer traffic patterns were altered,

particularly in the agricultural regions along Bayou Teche

and in Terrebonne Parish (Morse, 1954, pp. 31, 32). As a

result, water transport reached a peak during the years

prior to the War between the States. "Steamers were trans

porting goods to and from the heart of almost every parish

in the state" (Chapman, 1955, p. 4). Planters depended al

most entirely on steamer transportation. With the advantage

of protected waterways they moved their products to market

throughout the year. Cost and risks were reduced and they

received from New Orleans or foreign countries, the products

"deemed essential to life" (Anon., 1956, p. 200).

In addition to the "Barataria Waterway," there were

a number of 12-foot-wide plantation canals into the lakes

and bayous west of the Mississippi (Hughes, 1942, map). It

can be assumed, therefore, that Fleitas, Gardiers, Johnson,

Lesepp, Marigny, Ciprions, Osgood, Packwood, Rappelets,

A1 Rigeux, Urguhart, Veret, Wilkinson (Figure 3) and many

others were built as drainage canals. They were not big

enough for the movement of large ships and their cargoes,

but could have been used for small boats. Several, such as

Wilkinson and Rappelets, are now used by commercial fisher

men and sportsmen as access routes into Barataria Bay.


60

Robinson Canal

Located on Bayou Petit Caillou, approximately 24

miles south of Houma, Robinson Canal, built by 1856, is

the oldest documented artificial waterway in this region

(Hebert, 1857, p. 17). As a 116 year old canal, it con

tinues to serve the transport needs of fishermen, sports

men and trappers. Its age is another example of the

longevity of the coastal canal network.

Shipping Channels through New Orleans

In New Orleans, two transportation canals linked the

city to Lake Pontchartrain — Carondelet and New Basin.

Carondelet dates from 1794 when the Spanish started its

construction. By utilizing Bayou St. John, they needed

only to excavate a 1.57 mile canal, completed in 1797

(Louisiana Board of Commissioners, 1922, p. 14). Approxi

mately 70-feet-wide and seven-feet-deep, the canal, in 1818,

provided the Navy access to a refitting yard built on the

channel (Lockett, 1870, p. 10). In 1944, 47 years after

completion of the Carondelet channel. New Basin Canal was

completed by a private firm at a cost of $1,266,070. It was

6.65 miles long, 60-100 feet wide and nine-feet-deep (Figure

5), As a privately financed project, a tool of 20 cents/ton


61

was levied on all ships using the waterway. It is estimated

that before the state obtained the property, the channel

netted in one two-year period $3,894,230.80 (Louisiana

Board of Commissioners, 1922, p. 15).

Canal Construction After the War Between the States

Terrebonne Canal

In the late 1800's, many new canals were added to

Louisiana's coastal landscape. Leach and Turtle's 1887

Map of the Alluvial Valley of the Mississippi River . . .

clearly show the changes in the canal network. One impor

tant channel was "Terrebonne Canal," connecting Caminada Bay

and Little Lake. This waterway later became the "South

west Louisiana Canal" (Figure 26), a privately owned toll

route. In that the right-of-way crossed Bayou Lafourche,

two tolls were charged — 30 cents/ton on the east channel

and 16 cents/ton on the western section (Interview with

Abdon Martin, December 29, 1971). With completion of the

canal, coastal settlers had an east-west route into

Timbalier and Barataria Bays. No longer was it necessary to

use Company Canal (Figure 25) or the Gulf to gain access to

the coastal bays. For a small fee. Southwest Louisiana

Canal was used. For example, in the early 1900's the lock


62

master often collected a fee from 300 vessels a day

(Interview with Abdon Martin, December 29, 1971). These

were small boats used primarily by fishermen and trappers.

However, other people traveled the route. One family living

on Brush Island often poled their watermelon-laden sailboat

through this channel to the New Orleans market (Interview

with William Boyne, July 29, 1971). For at least 85 years

this has been an important route for small boat traffic

and has eroded through use into a watercourse that is about

200 feet wide.

Grays Canal

Hains' 1864 map of the Mississippi Basin denotes a

small canal-like connection between Bayou Lafourche and

Hackberry Bay. Subsequent maps such as Leach and Turtle

(1887) and the current United States Geologic Survey Quad

rangle labels the channel — Grays Canal (Figure 26). The

waterway, according to several people along Bayou Lafourche,

was originally a toll channel serving as a short-cut for

small boat traffic. Probably cut as a traînasse, the canal

through use has enlarged into a major waterway. Although,

it was large enough for oil industry support vessels, the

toll apparently was too great, as Haviland Canal was


63

constructed to avoid paying the fee (Interview with Felecin

Duet, December 10, 1971).

Panama Canal

South of Grays Canal is Panama Canal (Figure 26),

which was probably excavated around 1910 as a traînasse

into Timbalier Bay. The canal, now a bayou, was originally

built as a toll channel. However, fishermen did not want to

pay for the privilege of using this route; consequently,

the floating barriers placed across the watercourse were

either by-passed or dynamited. Even a cement dam construc

ted by the state was destroyed. As a result, the canal

remained open to become an unnamed bayou on the current

Leeville Quadrangle (Interview with Lester Plaisance,

December 20, 1971).

Jean Plaisance Canal

Another important canal, Jean Plaisance (Figure 26),

linked Bayou Lafource to Catfish Lake. The route, according

to many people, was cut by coastal Indians to provide a

waterway to Bayou Lafourche from settlements at Faleau, Isle

Jean Charles and Point Au Chien. People in these communities

used the ditch to bring goods to sell or trade along Bayou

Lafourche -- a trip that took three hours (Interview with


64

Felecin Duet, December 10, 1971). In 1924, Jean Plaisance,

widened the channel, so it could be used to move sugarcane

from plantations in Terrebonne Parish to refineries on

Bayou Lafourche. It also provided an access route for

Plaisance's grocery boat, which served the 300 trappers

working for him. Later the canal was filled in, but for

many years it was the primary route into the marsh west of

Bayou Lafourche from Larose south to Leeville. The current

Jean Plaisance Canal, was constructed as an access channel

to an oil field in Catfish Lake (Figure 62) and is not the

original channel (Interview with Lester Plaisance, December

20, 1971).

Mississippi River Toll Canals

On the Mississippi, Leach and Turtle (1887) show a

small unnamed channel in the vicinity of Ostrica, along

with Doulluts Canal at Empire (Figure 27); this waterway

became a significant east-west route for oystermen obtain

ing seed oysters in Quarantine Bay. By providing a connec

tion into the Mississippi, both channels were significant

short-cuts. To use these routes a toll based on a ship's

length was levied. Data available for 1931 indicate the

tolls were:


GoldenMeadow

Jÿ j# LeevilleAnmMier

Bay

1. Jeon Ploiionc*2. Southwest Louisiana Canal3. Grays4. Panama

- Figure ^5. ^raÿ^/ Jean Piaisance, Manama amd Terrebonne canals, from Leach and Turtle (1887), U.S.G.S, Leeville Quadrangle (1967) and U.S.G.S. Lake Felicity Quadrangle (1964).

# 0 #

# 0 ™

\ k Æ

Figure 27. Two in^rtant Mississippi River toll canals, from U.S.G.S. Empire Quadrangle (1960).


66

For boats under 30 feet . . . . $3.25 at each lockFor boats even 30 feet . . . . $3.75 at each lockFor boats over 30 feet . . . . $3.75 plus 15* for

each additional foot(McConnell, 1931, p. 227).

In that oyster luggers were the principal vessels using

these canals, an additional fee of one cent/sack was col

lected. During 1930-31 "two hundred separate oyster boats

passed through these locks, some making as many as fifteen

round trips" (McConnell, 1931, p. 227).

The eastern channel was serving boat traffic as

early as 1887. Due to the absence of early 1900 maps, the

western channel is difficult to document. It was probably

built in the early 1900's when there was a considerable

amount of coastal canal construction. Today, both channels

continue to serve as access routes into the Mississippi and

the oyster beds in Quarantine Bay (Interview with Captain

Hyman Pitre, December 29, 1971).

The First Delta Canals

South of these two waterways Lockett reported in 1870

two canals in the delta of the Mississippi (Figure 28).

There are but few communications between these bays and the Mississippi River; a boat canal connects Bay Rondo with Pass a Loutre at the so called Wood Yard


67

just above the head of the South East Pass. . . .[This canal is called by Talcott, 1838, Charley'sCanal].

There is another boat canal just below the Saltworks but it is reported as being closed by drift logs. From the Saltworks communication may be had with the bay, by a small canal running in a straight line from the settlements, but it does not extend to the Mississippi, there being one hundred yards left unopened (Lockett, 1870, p. 21).

These are the earliest canals in the delta. By 1900

both were apparently closed. New canals were not built

until the discovery of oil. When petroleum was found to

exist in this region it became criss-crossed with artificial

channels.

The Mississippi by-pass,Lake Borgne Canal

Another transport route built after the War between

the States was Lake Borgne Canal (Figure 29). Authorized in

March, 1855 to cross the plantation of Richard A. Stewart,

it was not completed until the early 1870's (Anon., 1856, p.

107). Built by the "most powerful dredgeboats and derricks

in the Union" (Thoispaon, 1870, p. 65), this route, along

with Carondelet and New Basin canals, provided traffic with

a by-pass of the long sinuous course down the Mississippi.

The canal was a major waterway until other routes were de

veloped. It was subsequently dammed at the junction with


68

■ I . ■■ ' , 1Mtitittipri. Woed.Ya

sssusass ,mêMitam mnm

SaltWorki Chdnnal .

Figure 28. The first canals in the Mississippi delta, after Talcott (1839) and Lockett (1873).

Figure 29. Lake Borgne Canal, after Leach and Turtle (1887)


69

the Mississippi, and today its channel is used as a port

for fishing vessels.

As a 7.5 mile long, 85-feet-wide and seven-feet-

deep channel, the canal provided vessels with a route into

Lake Borgne. It was not a free canal. Non-cargo carrying

boats paid 40 cents/ton, based on the hull's outside

dimensions. If ships were loaded the toll was based on

the cargo. A captain paid 40 cents/1,000 for bricks,

$1.00/1,000 for logs, $1.00/1,000 for lumber and 3 cents

each for railroad cross-ties (Louisiana Board of Commis

sioners, 1922, p. 11).

Expansion of the Transportation Canal Network

Between 1887 and 1930 the transportation canal

system was expanded. Enterprising businessmen and coastal

communities cut artificial waterways to reduce travel time

and provide access to important markets. As a result, by

1930, prior to the tremendous surge in canal building

associated with the petroleum industry, the coastal land

scape was marked by a number of transportation canals. The

system was small, but adequate. It was built to serve the

peoples needs and provided the necessary connectivity

required by these individuals (Appendix 1).


70

The inventory of transportation canals in the

Appendix is a compilation of the waterways excavated between

1887 and 1930 and represents the major additions to the

transportation network. They were constructed by several

interest groups, but, in all cases, provided significant

routes for trappers, fishermen, freight-carrying vessels

and access into isolated communities. Although these

canals are not over 100 years old, all continue to serve

as important transportation arteries. Due to their con

stant use, many have eroded into large watercourses.

Later Developments

After 1930, oil companies began to use canals in

their work, thereby changing the transportation pattern

along the coast. These patterns were further altered with

the completion of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which,

along with the Mississippi, has become the dominant water

route in the state. Plaquemine-Morgan City Alternate Route,

Lake Charles Deep Water Channel, Houma Navigation Canal,

Freshwater Bayou Gulf Outlet and Franklin Canal (Figure

15), provide the state with a good coastal transport system,

Louisiana, however, had a tradition of canal building and

although the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was the first


71

complete man-made waterway across South Louisiana, other

channels, that predate it, provided similar connections.

The transportation canal network expanded as the

need for shorter routes were required. The system dates

back to the early 1700's and new channels were added as

they were required — a process that is continuing. As

a result, canals excavated for the movement of freight

have played a significant role in developing the state's

resources.


CHAPTER III

TRAPPING CANALS; A TRAPPER'S ACCESS TO THE MARSH

Across Louisiana's marsh is a special canal type,

called a traînasse and defined as a "trail cut through the

marsh grass for the passage of a canoe [pirogue]" (Read,

1931, p. 74). Built by coastal dwellers these ditches

provided access into an environment that was considered by

many to be worthless. They were small, only about five-

feet-wide and from six to 12-inches-deep, just wide and

deep enough for a pirogue (which is approximately 16-feet-

long, 24 to 28-inches-wide and will float in two to three

inches of water). The boat was important, because it was

the marsh dweller's principal means of travel (Figure 30).

Ditches were dug in greatest number by people

living at such isolated communities as Basa Basa, Bayou

Norman, Chenier Au Tigre, Grand Chenier, Hermitage, Manila

Village, Mauvais Bois, Pecan Island and others (Figure 31).

In marsh settlements, traînasses were dug from a navigable

bayou into a lake or pond, where men in the winter would

hunt ducks, selling them for 10 to 25 cents a pair on the72


73

Figure 30. Trapping using a puah-pole to meuieuver his pirogue through a traînasse (courtesy Fred B, Kniffen).

New Orleans market. In the early 1900's duck hunting was

more profitable than trapping, because the most valuable

fur-bearing animal of the marsh, the muskrat (Figure 32),

would bring only five to 10 cents a pelt.

Hunting trails provided a water route into land

locked water bodies and became the marsh dwellers connective

link into these areas. Around 1915, the muskrat became a

fashionable fur. Pelts increased in value and marsh folks

extended their hunting ditches into muskrat's habitat. The

marsh dwellers changed their winter activity from hunting

to trapping.


Lake Charles / { Jennixw

Gueydan New Iberiai\J racMsul

00VifmuHm

0 00 Marsh I si

Imiles

Significant Louisiana(Material compiled fron

1. American Bayou 21. Ch2, Avery Is la n d 22. Co3. Basa Basa 23. Co4. dayou Black 24. Cr5. Bayou Cholas 25. Cu6. Bayou Gauche 26. Cy7. Bayou L'Ours 27. Du8. Bayou Norman 28. Pa9. ^ y o u Point Au Chien 29. Pr

10. B e lize 30. Gh11. B e lle Is le 31. Go12. Bourg 32. Gi13. Brush Is la n d 33. He14. Cameron 34. Is15. Camp Dewey 35. Ja16. Carmandelle 36. Jo17. Chaudlere Casse 37. K118. Chauvin 38. La19. Chenier Au T ig re 39. La20. Chenier Camlnada 40 . La


ATON ROUGE

PlaqucmitiCiLaAycneLak« Charles j Mennings* Lukv run tth

Donaldsonville MhihstppfGueydan* New iberiavs^ ^%

^^.lutractM stai S!‘jAlUmdtJiNapoleonvilie

A ® Th|bodau%#\ ,<Mrre<* Franklin

i'ermt/hn &iy ^Jl^organ CityLockTOri

La RoseMarsh Island

Aubéféléjà Béy

Ttmku»Me R t ^ \flLit ^ _ ( X o

Significant Louisiana Coastal Settlements, circa 1930(Material compiled from Documents, Interviews, and Maps)

imerlcan Bayou 21. Chenier Perduvery Islsuid 22. Cocodrleasa Basa 23. Cote Blancheayou Black 24. Creoleayou Cholas 25. Cut-Offayou Gauche 26, Cypremort Pointayou L'Ours 27. Dulacayou Norman 28. Paleauayou Point Au Chien 29. Frenierellze 30. Gheenselle Isle 31. Golden Meadowpurg 32. Grand Chenierpush Island 33. Hermitageameron 34. Isle Jean Charlesbunp Dewey 35. Jahnckes Ditchamnandelle 36. Johnson's Bayounaudlere Casse 37. Kings Bldgem u v l n 38. Laflttehenler Au Tigre

It:Lake Catsu>uatche

nenler Camlnada Lake Penchant

41. Laskines42. Last IS ian43. Leevllle44. Little Cai45. Little Che46. Little Fee

Little Ten Manila Vll Marmande Hauvols Be Mont egut Mulberry Pecan Isis Plumb Isis Pointe Bai Shell Beac titevensVi3

58. The Temple59. Weeks Isis

47.48.49.50.51.52.

55.'56;57.


faATON ROUGE

Plaquemine

Lakv rimtcbartraiM

Donaldsonville \V m h i tP P [

NaooJC b u u J v iv / t r ® SuHHd

NEWORLEALfi AHtmdnJiNapoleonvilie

Thjbodaux

Morgan City iLa Roseyvrti a Houma

%

aAukéfdLiyâ Béy 00 Venice

TtrtilfmmtVtn Bé)

ilil Settlements, circa 1930nents, Interviews, and Maps)iidu 4l. Laskines

42. Last Islandthe 43. Leevllle

44. Little Carrion45. Little ChenierPoint 46. Little Pecan47. Little Temple48. Manila Village49. Marmande50. Mauvols Bols

idow 51. Mont egutlier 52. Mulberry

53. Pecan IslandCharles 54. Plumb Island%toh 55. Pointe BarreBayou 56; Shell Beach56 57. dtevensTllle>uatchelant

58. The Temple59. Weeks Island


75

To exploit fur animals it became necessary to dig

ditches into areas of high animal production. Many date

back to the early 1900's, when men were building trainasses

to get to their trapping areas. Trapping canals not only

provided access, but served as a means of moving muskrat

from the field to camp, where they were skinned and dried

(Figure 33). During this period a good trapper could catch

up to 200 muskrat a day (Interview with Felecin Duet,

December 10, 1971). It was necessary, therefore, that he

have a natural or man-made channel to his camp.

Figure 32. Louisiana muskrat. (Courtesy Louisiana Department of Commerce emd Industry).


76

Figure 33. Trapper's cabin Figure 34. Approximatelywith a display of one mile ofmuskrat pelts traînasse/ whichCourtesy Louisiana is used by trap-Wildlife and Fisher- pers to insureies Commission) a "good winter"

catch.

Trainasses were essential to trapping; without them

it would have been impossible to exploit muskrat. Conse

quently, all trappers were potential canal builders. Their

attitude was that a man should dig his ditches when and where

he needed them in order to insure a "good winter" (Figure 34).

Construction Techniques

In building his traînasse a trapper took account of

the physical environment. On the Chenier Plain the marsh


77

was deep and firm. Here a man could work his traps on foot.

Extensive networks of ditches did not develop until the

muskrat catch began to decline. Then it was necessary to

cut many watercourses, so a larger area could be covered

and the catch increased. East of the Chenier Plain trappers

cut trails in the easy to excavate floating vegetation.

Ditches were extended into the best muskrat habitats,

increasing production (Interview with Alvin Dyson, October

23, 1971).

Pirogue Paddles

Trappers first used a pirogue paddle to cut small

marsh waterways. Currents eroded the sides and bottom

producing a shallow pirogue channel (Interview with Mr.

and Mrs, Mathew Creppel, December 14, 1971).

Erosion of these ditches has resulted in their no

longer being referred to as ditches, or trails, but as

bayous. For example, 50 years ago Mathew Creppel used a

pirogue paddle to cut a 40-inch-wide, 12-inch-deep ditch

between two bayous in the vicinity of Bayou St. Denis in

Barataria Bay. Today this trainasse has eroded into a bayou

200-feet-wide and eight to 10-feet-deep (Interview with Mr.

and Mrs. Mathew Creppel, December 14, 1971).


78Every trapper had his own ditch to which he had

exclusive rights. As a result, there developed in the

marsh a large network of trails only deep and wide enough

to allow a pirogue to be pulled or poled through (Figure

30). Due to the difficulties involved in locating the man

who cut the original ditch, it is almost impossible to

document all channels that have enlarged into major water

ways.

Shovels, Rakes and Sweepers

The most widely used tools in trainasse construc

tion were a shovel bent like a hoe (called a crooked

shovel) (Figure 35), a rake and a "sweeper," which was a

long handled steel bladed knife. With these tools a man

cut his trapping ditches to a width and depth large enough

that he did not have to rely on the current to erode the

channel. These trainasses were often dammed, so a trapper

could control the water on his land amd prevent erosional

enlargement of his ditches. A trapper recognized the prob

lems of drainage, salt water intrusion and erosion; conse

quently, he tried to guard against these forces and their

effect on his trapping land (Interview with Mr. and Mrs.

Mathew Creppel, December 14, 1971).


79

Figure 35. A "crooked shovel" is the trapper's principal tool in cutting trainasse.

The crooked shovel was used by all marshland trap

pers. The greatest number of shovel ditches were built

in the Deltaic Plain, where the marsh could not be trapped

on foot. It was necessary that a man cut passages into

his trapping area (Figure 34).

On the Chenier and Deltaic Plains, the ditch was

an important landscape element and the shovel, rake and

sweeper provided a man with an inexpensive set of tools to

build his trainasse. Two months before trapping season

opened a man would prepare his ditches. In some areas

ditches were often located every quarter mile to insure

adequate coverage; this was certainly not the rule. A


80

trapper would build only the canals essential to effici

ently work his land. The number, therefore, was a function

of the productivity of a trapping area and depended on the

location and density of muskrat communities. If a man's

land was productive he would dig few canals; if the muskrat

were scattered it was then necessary to enlarge the canal

network.

Increased efficiency in trainasse construction

occurred when several trappers worked together. This coopera

tion allowed a man to finish his ditches before the season

opened and guaranteed adequate passageways.

To build a trail, two men would use a sweeper to

chop parallel trenches. These cuts were four-feet-apart

and the outside boundary of the ditch. They dug a 10-foot

section, then placed another trench down the middle to

divide it in two. The ditch was then cut into blocks one-

foot-long and two-feet-wide, which were pulled out of the

channel with a rake or sweeper and made into small levees

(Figure 36). Using this method trappers could cut from

3,000 to 5,000 feet a day. However, without help it often

took up to three weeks to clear a mile of trainasse

(Interview with Lester Plaisance, December 20, 1971).


81

T

Cross Cuts-

Small enough to be removed with hand tools, usually a rake or hoe

><

0 SECTION is cut then each one foot piece is removed

Center Cut-using sweeper and hoe

IDEALIZED TRAINASSE- Work done

by up to three men using hand tools

0l_ 2 3 4J l .

5_L_

6J

Feet

Figure 36.


82In good trapping years demand for fur was so high

many land owners and fur buyers hiréd men to work all year

cutting trainasses. One year, Pierre Lege of Intracoastal

City, worked for $1.25 a day cutting ditches for Peter

Dyson, Also, Vermilion Corporation (originally Louisiana

and Delaware Pur Company) often contracted to have ditches

built on land between Vermilion Bay and Pecan Island. These

trainasses were dug by a string of men, each working a

section of ditch and cost about 10 to 15 dollars/mile. The

channels were small, but effective in the trapper's efforts

to catch muskrat, mink, otter, raccoon and nutria (which

were introduced into the United States from Argentina in

1937).

Mudboats

Construction of Chenier Plain trainasses increased,

when in 1918 Sostane Broussard brought to Pecan Island from

Cameron the first mudboat. This vessel was a bateau

like boat, powered by a four cylinder, air-cooled inboard

engine and developed enough power to plow a ditch through

the marsh (Figure 37). It simply pushed the mud and

vegetation out of the way, leaving a navigable push-pole

channel. The first>u»e of the boat was to enlarge hand-cut


83

Figure 37. A Pecan Island mudboat with a pirogue in the stern; the pirogue is transported into the marsh where it is used (Courtesy Fred B. Kniffen).

Figure 38. One of thenumerous enlarged Chenier Plain trainasse: through use, the channel width has increased.

trails built by the community for Eugene Broussard, Joe

Dyson and Ulysses Veazey. The boat was so new, however,

and dug a trail so fast, many people were afraid of it.

This fear did not last long. They quickly started to build

and use mudboats to dig trapping ditches, a practice still

followed by many men living in the area, in spite of a cost

of about $2,500/boat (Interview with Eugene Broussard,

October 12, 1971).


84

After 1920, most canals west of Vermilion Bay were

built with mudboats. The boat could plow up to six miles

of ditch a day and became the trapper's principal excava

tion tool. It runs like a car, in that the engine is not

sucking water, as does an outboard and will efficiently

cut trainasse in one or two inches of water.

Once a trail was cut, a trapper would run his boat

through the ditch to stir up the mud; then he relied on

the current to carry the material out of the channel.

These ditches were built about four-feet-wide and six-

inches-deep, but enlarged, through use, into 15-feet-wide

and two-feet-deep channels. The ditches constructed in

this manner, such as those south of Pecan Island, are still

important landscape features (Figure 38).

Ditch Diggers

Mudboats were utilized effectively by trappers west

of Vermilion Bay, but were not employed to excavate ditches

east of the Bay. Here men used shovels, rakes and sweepers

until Wash Rodrigue at Larose, around 1933, invented the

"ditch digger." In the Deltaic Plain this new tool effec

tively cut trails in the floating vegetation and high

organic soils (Interview with Linwood Marlbrough, July 28,

1971).


85

This floating vessel, 20-feet-long and five and a

half feet wide, is powered by an inboard engine. Its

unique characteristic is two bow-mounted 36-inch rotating

cutting blades, which are capable of excavating a six-foot-

wide, six-inch-deep channel (Figure 39). The blades are

designed, like an airplane propeller, so as to cut the

vegetation and at the same time pull the boat through the

marsh. As long as the machine operates in at least five

inches of water, it can cut trainasse; in fact, under these

conditions it can dig up to three miles a day. If the

marsh is dry, it is difficult for a man to cut 1,200 feet

a day. This is faster than using hand tools and certainly

easier. When the marsh is dry, ditch digger operators

wait until high tide to cut ditches. At low tide channels

are recut in order to assure sufficient draft for a pirogue

(Interview with Linwood Marlbrough, July 28, 1971).

Initial cost of a ditch digger is approximately

$3,000. In that all trappers cannot afford this machine,

many contracted to have a ditch digger cut their trainasse.

Rental varied with the job, but the average seemed to be

about $50.00. Use of the mechanical ditch digger represented

a considerable savings of time and, in terms of effort,

the money was well spent in that the trapper did not have


86

to spend two months preparing his ditches. The ditch

digger completed the job in a week, or less.

Marsh Buggies

The newest excavation equipment used by trappers

is the marsh buggy. Two types were developed — wheeled

and tracked. The wheeled buggy (Figure 40), perfected by

Andrew Cheramie at Cut Off, was used in the marsh east and

west of Bayou Lafourche (Interview with Elie Cheramie,

December 29, 1971). This buggy, however, was not widely

employed in trainasse construction. The track buggy

(Figure 41), developed by John Paul Crain (at Grand Chenier),

was employed in digging trapping ditches in the Chenier

Plain. Two marsh buggies pulling a marsh plow (Figure 42),

of Crain's design, could excavate up to 12 miles of ditch

a day. The completed channel would be six-feet-wide, 18-

inches-deep and cost about $12.00/mile. With this equip

ment a trapper could have his canals built in a short period

of time, for a fee that, at one time, represented about half

a day's catch (Interview with John Paul Crain, October 20,

1971).

Marsh buggies provided Chenier Plain trappers with

suffucient ditches. When production was good these trails

were localized in muskrat and nutria communities. The area


CD■DOÛ.C

gQ.

■DCD

C/)C/)

8

( O '

3.3 "CD

CD■DOQ.Cao3"Oo

31

CDQ.

"OCD

C/)C/)

Figure 39. Ditch digger employed in Deltaic Plain trainasse construction; note the cutting blades and the splatter shield.

Figure 40, Wheeled buggies were used in the marsh around Bayou Lafourche; note the high wheels,

00>vl

CD■DOQ.C

gQ.

■DCD

C/)C/)

8■D

3.3 "CD

CD■DOQ.CaO3"OO

(A?

CDQ.

■DCD

C/)C/)

Figure 41. Track buggies equipped with a back hoe.

Figure 42. The marsh plow, designed by John Crain, when pulled by two buggies could excavate up to 12 miles of ditch a day.

0000

89

has consistently produced large numbers of muskrat and

nutria. Additional marsh buggy ditches were welcomed

by trappers, because they allowed them more mobility in

covering a larger area.

Trapping,Areas, Marsh Leases and Their Influence on Canalization

Prior to discovery of oil, Louisiana's marsh was

considered by many individuals to be worthless; it provided

economic benefits only to people living in coastal settle

ments. These settlers never considered owning the marsh.

It was open country and could be used by anyone.

To bring order, to what could have been a chaotic

situation, cane poles were used to stake out a trapping area.

Once boundaries were marked, individual plots were respected.

Trappers would not trespass; they would use the canals

crossing an area, but would not set traps on someone else's

land. It was folk law, that a man's trapping ground was to

be respected. Territoriality was so strong a man and wife

team would mark two sections. Ealfeh worked a tract and only

trespassed when asked. The marsh, therefore, was divided

into individual trapping claims. Many were family controlled,

a son often inheriting the right to trap a particular tract

(Interview with Mr. and Mrs. Mathew Creppel, December 14,

1971).


90

In his trapping area a man cut as many canals as

needed to efficiently work the tract. To determine the

required ditches, a trapper surveyed the land, noting

density and location of muskrat communities. With this

information, he determined where to cut his trainasse

(Figure 43).

Trapping Land Leases

After muskrat became a fashionable fur, and pelt

prices increased, many people "outside" the marsh started

to spend their winters trapping. These individuals often

did not respect traditional trapping areas. They trapped

all regions, regardless of who claimed the tract and often

secured trapping privileges through leasing (Interview

with Mr. and Mrs. Mathew Creppel, December 14, 1971).

The lease agreements commercialized the industry.

Outsiders went into the marsh and indiscriminately cut

trainasses. They cut them into bayous, across ridges and

dug large networks to work the land. When trapping was

carried on only by marsh dwellers, they protected the area

by building small dams on their ditches, only digging

enough canals to work the Isind and never placing a channel

across a ridge.


91Hypothetical TRAPPING AREA

TRAINASSE O O O -C A N E POLE

BOUNDARY MARKERS

PIROGUE

O O O O30(90'________________«00

TRAINASSE and TRAP PLACEMENT

iS o ° o

4 TRAP PLACEMENT PIROGUE

_ COLLECTION 0 POINTS

0 0 0 WALKED AREA TRAINASSE

Figure 43.


92Large operators, like E. P. Brady, Mahler Fur,

Steinberg Fur and Louisiana Fur companies, constructed

canals. Voss, Brady and Louisiana Fur canals were cut

so fur buyers could move easily across the lease. They

provided connective links between the trapper and fur

company buyers and are still important parts of the marsh

transportation system.

In the swamp, trappers used logging canals (See

Chapter IV), such as Bowie, Cotton, Lewis, Providence, St.

Louis and Williams. These channels became the trappers

link into the swamp. In the marsh, a man could dig his own

ditches. In the swamp it was too difficult and he relied

on those canals already on the landscape.

Today trappers no longer build as many ditches.

Small canals are now cut by duck hunters, who lease much of

the marsh. One stipulation often in the lease is that any

canal built can be used by a trapper. This is to the trap

pers advantage, because he no longer pays for the ditch.

As a result, when animals are scarce he can cover a larger

area. For example, a Vermilion Corporation lease reads in

part:

Party of the second part shall have the right to use any canals which are on the property of the company or over which the company has right of way.


93

only in so far as the use of said canal or canals are necessary in the trapping operation under this contract (Interview with Mark Hebert, October 19, 1971).

Trapping Canals - A Summary

Louisiana's small coastal ditches became significant

landscape features when fur prices increased to a profitable

level. In 1913, a pelt was worth eight cents, a pair of

ducks sold for 25, thus providing the greatest return. Fur

prices, however, increased from eight cents in 1914 to 50

cents in 1922, or 625 percent (Chatterton, 1944, p. 194).

With this price increase, coastal dwellers changed their

winter activity to trapping.

To operate efficiently in the alluvial wetlands, a

large number of ditches were constructed, representing the

first expansion of the trainasse system. This growth

occurred between 1912 and 1920, representing the start of

a concentrated effort to cut trails into trapping areas.

Consequently, as the number of people trapping increased,

the network expanded into its current chaotic pattern.

Today, as in the past, the most productive muskrat

and nutria areas are in Cameron, Vermilion and St. Bernard

parishes. Along the Chenier Plain, people have trapped

since the early 1900's. Even at eight cents a pelt, there


94

were enough animals that a man could make a good living.

Therefore, some of the earliest trainasses were built in

this territory. By 1935, land between Vermilion Bay and

Pecan Island had been transformed into a labyrinth of criss

crossing trapping trails (Figure 44). Many ditches, con

structed in this tract, are now a notable part of the

landscape, continuing to serve the peoples transportation

needs. It is this constant use that maintains these chan

nels as functioning navigable watercourses.

In the swamp and the Deltaic Plain, the growth

pattern has been different. A survey of early coastal maps,

compiled from air photos, indicates before 1935 few

trainasses were on the Deltaic Plain. People built access

routes, but the system was not as intensive as on the Chenier

Plain.

In the swamp, trappers worked along logging canals

and pull-boat trails (See Chapter IV); they were not canal

builders. Lumber companies provided access routes which

trappers used, along with bayous, to move through the swamp.

The concentration of timber channels made them particularly

useful in providing trappers with adequate access.


95

Jilandecom

mil#*

Figure 44, pecan Island trapping ditches, circa 1950,from U.S.G.S. Pecan Island Quadrangle (1951).

Chenier Plain

By 1955, numerous small watercourses were constructed

in the Chenier Plain (Figure 45). Between Calcasieu and

Sabine Lakes Orange-Cameron Land Company, around 1920

invested up to $1,500/mile for canals 18-feet-wide and six-

feet-deep. They also spent, in 1927, $1,635 to dynamite

pirogue trails to aid in "protecting, patrolling and trans

porting supplies" (Arthur, 1931, p. 322). The investment

represented the company's efforts to establish a muskrat


96

Gucydan

Chenier

Pecan

Figure 45, Trapping canals located on the Chenier Plain, circa 1933. Material compiled from U.S.G.S. Quadrangles dated between 1930 and 1933.

farm on its 163,000 acres. The region was already one of

the state's best trapping tracts, but the company wanted to

increase muskrat production. The project failed, primarily

because the channels were too large and drained too much

of the marsh. As a result, the animals left, and this

attempt at marsh management was unsuccessful (Arthur, 1931,

p. 322).

Stark, Beach, Willow Bayou and North canals are part

of the original network of trapping and supply channels.

They are a notable aspect on the landscape and remain as

evidence of the Orange-Cameron Land Company's efforts to

exploit the marsh (Figure 45).


97

Early surveys east of Lake Calcasieu indicate there

were a few marsh channels. Canals shown on these charts

are located in the vicinity of the Chenier ridges, in the

area west of Pecan Island, along the Gulf Intracoastal

Waterway and in a few isolated portions of the marsh

(Figure 45).

The network was small because trappers living on the

ridges trapped much of the land on foot. They did not

need an elaborate network of ditches; they only required a

route from their home to their trapping areas. Along

Chenier ridges, therefore, north-south trending pirogue

trails provided trappers with adequate passages.

At Pecan Island and Grand Chenier, trappers cut

access channels to their trapping regions. Several early

settlers, like Eugene Broussard, Sostane Broussard, Joe

Dyson, Moise Sturlese and Jake Von were responsible for

excavating many of the canals along the ridges (Interview

with Eugene Broussard, October 12, 1971). These individuals

cut trails from their homes into the marsh. Often the entire

community would help so that everyone could use the channel.

Long Island Ditch on Grand Chenier was built as a cooperative

project. One trail, served the community, reducing the time

involved in the excavation work and the number of canals

required (Interview with Moise Sturlese, October 19, 1971).


98

Pirogue trails constructed prior to 1935 are still

a landscape component. Many have enlarged (Figure 38).

Mudboats, ditch diggers, marsh buggies and motor boats have

done the work, producing substantial channels. Early

maps show 18 ridge canals, but local informants claim others

were built. These trails were so small they did not become

permanent features.

Between Pecan Island and Vermilion Bay, historic

maps document a well developed network of pirogue trails,

representing fur dealers' and land owners' efforts to ex

ploit the marsh. In the late 1800's, several of these

trails were constructed by residents of Chenier Au Tigre,

but the system was small. Freshwater Canal is the only

significant channel that remains from the early network and

is now part of Freshwater Bayou Gulf Outlet. It was built

originally as an important link to the Gulf and served as

the sea route to Abbeville (Interviews with Mr. and Mrs.

Pierre Lege, October 7th and 8th, 1971).

The number of trapping ditches increased when the

marsh was leased to fur companies. Louisiana and Delaware

Fur Company, along with Ned Mcllhenny, were responsible for

this growth. Louisiana Fur began excavating trails in 1910;

Mcllhenny started around 1912. Their efforts resulted in a


99series of multifunctional routes, serving trappers and

sportsmen (Interview with Nick Schexnayder, October 15,

1971).

Louisiana Fur's most important trails, Dewitt and

Louisiana Fur, were built about 1920. They were cut as

transportation routes for trappers leasing company land.

Both canals were three to four-feet-wide with a depth of

18 inches. Today Dewitt is larger, but Louisiana Fur is

still essentially a pirogue trail. The difference is a

result of boat traffic using Dewitt and not Louisiana Fur

(Interview with Mark Hebert, October 19, 1971).

Between 1912 and 1926 Ned Mcllhenny had constructed

Belle Isle, Cut Off, Mcllhenny, Sixmile and West Chenier

Au Tigre canals. These routes traversed some excellent

three-corner grass marsh and with practically every adult

male living at Chenier Au Tigre and Pecan Island involved

in trapping, the channels provided these men with marsh

access. Additions to the system are a result of trappers

building canals on their leases (Interview with Ted Bonin,

October 6, 1971).

The first complete maps of the marsh indicate that

north of the cheniers there were few trapping channels.

This is because men worked the area on foot; they did not


100

rely as much on boats. The two small systems that appear

along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway were built by three

hunting clubs — Coastal, Crowley and Florence.

These groups, along with Ned Mcllhenny, were the

first in this region to excavate canals for organized

recreation. By 1935, they had completed their channels,

thus providing trappers living along the marsh margins with

a ready-made transportation system. New hunting ditches

simply extended the area trappers could work.

Today a large part of the Chenier Plain is leased to

hunters, who, like hunting clubs, build small canals to

their blinds. Sportsmen are constructing more trails now

than trappers did in the past; they have become the Chenier

Plain canal builders. The trapper is pleased with the

system because it provides him with a larger canal network

(Interview with Alvin Dyson, October 25, 1971).

The coastal canal system expanded out of people's

desire to exploit marsh products, first, by their efforts

to make a little money during the winter and later by fur

dealers. Ditches cut for access became the water roads of

Chenier Plain. Through use, many became so large that they

never filled in.


101

Deltaic Plain

East of Vermilion Bay, on the Deltaic Plain,

trainasse growth has been similar to that on the Chenier

Plain. The system evolved through community interest in

marsh travel and commercial fur dealers desire to gain lease

access. These use groups were responsible for canal expan

sion and landscape modification (Interview with J. C.

Thomas, August 26, 1971).

Since "flotant" (Figure 46) is difficult to traverse

on foot, it is essential that people living in this environ

ment create their own waterways. To expedite travel,

pirogue trails were originally cut to settlements along

the ridges, natural levees, and into muskrat and nutria

habitats. Without these passageways it would have been

difficult to trap. The trainasse was the difference between

success and failure. Recognizing the reality of the situa

tion, marsh dwellers constructed numerous access routes

(Interview with Randolph Bazet, July 23, 1971).

Billiot, Falgout, Kings, Marmande, Peoples and St.

Jean Charles canals are shovel ditches excavated by individu

als living on Kings Ridge, Marmande Ridge, Mauvais Bois and

Isle St. Jean Charles (Figure 31). These waterways were

passageways to natural levee settlements and became key


102

Figure 46. Flotant, located in the Deltaic Plain, is made up of decomposing vegetative debris, which makes it a quagmire underfoot.

marsh routes — a function they still perform (Interview

with Marshall Vignes, July 16, 1971). Built between 1890

and 1920, they served the transportation needs of the people

using the alluvial wetlands. They were not only significant

as traffic corridors, but also as trapping ditches. Men

trapped along their banks, but several, such as Marmande,

Peoples and St. Jean Charles, were extended beyond the

settlements. They served as approaches to the brackish

marsh of the muskrat and nutria.

These watercourses are now well-defined landscape

features. It should be emphasized that they were not the only


103

ones constructed. Pirogue trails were also built into

trapping leases. In southern Terrebonne Parish, between

Four League Bay and Bayou Terrebonne, trapping ditches were

concentrated between Plumb Bayou and Bayou Carrion Crow.

Another intensive network was in the triangle formed from

Lake Penchant. These almost obscure features were, in all

cases, engineered to serve as trapping area transportation

routes.

Along Bayou Carrion Crow, ditches were cut into

several sections paralleling the bayou. One trainasse,

less than two miles long, connected into each section and

was the only channel excavated. A trapper used the exten

sive network of natural waterways, rather than building an

elaborate system of interconnecting trapping ditches. One

channel, was sufficient (Figure 47).

To supervise this area, Louisiana Fur Company built,

around 1930, Brady and Voss canals (Interview with Marshall

Vignes, July 16, 1971). These were important marsh routes and

reduced greatly the travel time between Bayou Carrion Crow

and Bayou Penchant. Both channels, along with Crochet Canal,

were cut between large bayous. As a result, all have scoured

into major waterways. They started as ditches, but are now

prominent marsh features.


104

PIfogiM TroihPtumb

Xârrion

Figure 47. Carrion Crow Lake ditches are an example of how Deltaic Plain trappers cut only a few channels, extending from a natural water body into their land, from U.S.G.S. Lake DeCade Quadrangle (1956).

Pirogue trails, in the triangle, served the trapping

needs of settlements at Marmande Ridge and Mauvais Bois

(Figure 48), as well as those individuals who had winter

ceunps in the area. Southeast of Lake DeCade the large net

work of ditches represents one trapper's efforts to effici

ently work his lease (Figure 49). Today this system has

increased into one of the best examples of trainasse growth

along the coast. The property is trapped along a line of

carefully spaced channels. These trails, located


105

mil#*

Lake 0» Cade

Figure 48. Important canals around Lake DeCade, from U.S.G.S. Lake DeCade Quadrangle (1956).

}

i c

Figure 49. One of the few examples, on the Deltaic Plain, of a dense network of ditches used to efficiently trap a lease, from U.S.G.S. Lake DeCade Quadrangle (1956).


106

approximately every quarter section, give adequate lease

coverage and have evolved into a landscape criss-crossed,

ringed and cut by small trails.

East of Bayou Grand Caillou trapping ditches were

not apparently built in large numbers until after 1930.

The first important channels were Lapeyrouse, Madison,

Rabbit and Sevin, These connected into the lakes and bayous

behind the natural levees of Bayou Terrebonne. They were

multifunctional channels, used by trappers, fishermen and

hunters. Trappers utilized these routes to reduce travel

time, but rarely trapped along them (Interview with J. J.

Lapeyrouse, July 21, 1971).

Lafource Parish trainasses often resembled drainage

ditches. Men constructed trails from their homes into the

marsh. These paths allowed them to use their homes as base

camps (Interview with Felecin Duet, December 10, 1971). As

the width of Bayou Lafourche's natural levee decreases south

of Golden Meadow, winter camps and an increased number of

ditches were required, because the home no longer served as

a base camp.

The area around Leeville was well trapped and men who

worked this marsh built many trails, but through time and

repeated use, these channels have enlarged and now are a part


107

of the natural system. Along Bayou Coche trappers cut

several trainasses. Most now appear as unnamed bayous

(Interview with Lester Plaisance, December 28, 1971).

New ditches are being added to the Deltaic Plain,

but are not being built by trappers. Oil companies and

sportsmen are responsible for this expansion. A trapper

can no longer afford to cut his own ditches, but relies on

someone else to do the work. In fact, there are so many

canals across the marsh a trapper can work a lease without

any problems — no new ditches are needed.

Most trails do not appear on early maps. Some

channels are at least 100 years old, but were considered a

part of the "worthless” marsh. No effort was made to docu

ment the canal systems' growth. The absence of reliable

data complicates the problem of determining the influence

man-made channels had in altering the physical environment.

One area where channel enlargement has occurred is

in Barataria Basin. Old settlers recall when large parts of

the Basin were trapped using trainasses. Many of these

trapping regions are gone, eroded away; the ditches have

enlarged into major channels or coalesced to form larger

water bodies (Interview with Mr. and Mrs. Mathew Creppel,

December 14, 1971).


108

It would be difficult to speculate on the total

number of pirogue trails excavated in this area, in that

most are no longer recognizable. At one time the Basin had

many small settlements located wihtin it (Figure 31),

representing a population of approximately 500. These people

depended on the estuary for their livelihood. They trapped,

hunted and fished to support themselves. In winter, members

of the community trapped their own tracts. Consequently,

all trappers were potential canal builders (Interview with

Mr. and Mrs. Mathew Creppel, December 14, 1971). Ditches

were dug to make it easier to work the marsh and if these

people cut their own trails then the number of trainasses

would be quite high. Written records show that there were

few ditches in this region. Old timers claim that they

built many trainasses into, across and around their trapping

claims. These trails are now waterways and have become

man-made elements on the natural landscape.

In that the marsh terrain presents no serious prob

lems to canal construction the network of trapping ditches

has become a dynamic part of the landscape and represents

the first large scale network of marsh canals. New channels

are added, but old ones are rarely filled in. Once a

trainasse is cut, it remains for years, often enlarging into


109

a bayou. Many channels began as small Insignificant pirogue

ditches, which allowed the trapper to successfully work in

the alluvial wetlands. However, through repeated use,

storms and current flow they enlarged so sailboats and an

occasional lugger could take advantage of the channel, and

have become major landscape features. They are now permanent.

The only indications of human origin lie in their straight

ness and relationship to the natural waterway. The work of

the canal builders continues to have a decisive and cumula

tive impact on the wetlands environment. Some trails are

over 100 years old and have become a vital part of the total

transportation network; they are a visible segment on the

landscape and have affected drainage patterns, influenced

salinities and are a reminder of man's abilities to unknow

ingly change the delicate balance in the natural system.


CHAPTER IV

LOGGING CANALS: A DISTINCT PATTERNON THE SWAMP LANDSCAPE

The sea marsh embraces about one-eighth of the area of the State, forming a broad strip of wet and boggy prairie along the Gulf coast. Though the richest lands in the State, they have been but partially reclaimed. . . . Deep bayous intersect this region in every direction, which, with the lakes and lagoones, into which these bayous expand, supply a good navigation and cheap transportation for the valuable lumber in which the State abounds. These lands can be bought, reclaimed and brought into cultivation, even at the old rates of labor, at $20 per acre (Cottman, 1866, p. 22).

In the early 1700's, Louisiana's lumber trade with

France was considerable. Milled timber was in demand and

provided an "inducement to French merchants to bring ship

loads of European goods to Louisiana" (Surrey, 1916, p.

194). During this period, building material was a good

investment; planks purchased at the beginning of the year

had often tripled at the end. This kind of return increased

the search for marketable cypress, but due to the difficul

ties of working in the swamp, most timber was purchased from

planters who were clearing their land.110


Ill

To harvest timber, canals were excavated. These

channels represented the first attempts to use artificial

waterways to exploit the state's forest resources. From

this beginning, the canal network, associated with the

removal of swamp cypress, was expanded. Plantation owners

extended their canals; they dug multifunctional drainage,

transportation and timber access routes. Along these

passageways, lumber was acquired for building purposes, and,

since most large land owners had their own sawmills,

planks were cut and shipped to the New Orleans market.

On the 1817 Reconnoitring Chart of the South

Frontier of the U.S.A. . . , several planters south of New

Orleans had constructed canals into the swamp, Larounds,

Larosles, Vilkre, Jamanville, Philippon, Gentilly, Johnson

and others were built to serve the plantations drainage and

transportation needs. They were also important in gaining

access to marketable cypress (Figure 3). These were not,

however, commercial logging operations; this occurred after

the War between the States.

Large-Scale Logging

Large-scale logging began after the Timber Act of

1876 repealed the Homestead Act of 1866, which stated that

swamp land was unfit for cultivation and therefore could not


112

be claimed (Norgress, 1936, p. i.). With repeal, large

swamp tracts were sold for 25 to 50 cents/acre. Recognizing

the timber's value, lumber companies purchased a considerable ‘

quantity of this land. Brownell and Moore, Louisiana

Cypress Lumber Company and Pharr and Williams were three of

the first logging firms to obtain cypress land. With mills

at Morgan City, Houma and Patterson, these companies cut

and processed timber from the surrounding swamp (Norgress,

1936), p. 43) (Figure 50).

Other investors recognized the value of the state's

forest resources and began to acquire swamp tracts. By

1890, a considerable quantity of swamp had been sold to

lumber companies. Their most important problems were access

and timber removal. Methods needed to be developed to

successfully operate a swamp logging enterprise. To cope

with the problem, canals were dredged (Figure 51) into areas

containing large tracts of cypress. These waterways provided

the industry with adequate transportation routes and became

connective links into the swamp. Today they remain as relic

features of the exploitation of Louisiana's cypress.

Canal patterns, names and location indicate the areas

of cypress activity. Abandoned logging canals are in most

swamps bordering the marsh. In the Atchafalaya Basin, around


113

m

Figure 50. Cut swamp timber (courtesy Bowie Lumber. Company.)

Figure 51. Barge-mounted dipper dredge used to dig logging canals into the regions containing cypress (courtesy Bowie Lumber Company).

Boutte, Franklin, Gibson, Houma, Kraemer and Lake Veret

logging canals are still a visible landscape component (Figure

52). These channels were constructed by Brownell and Drew,

Cotton, Diebert-Stark and Brown, F. B. Williams, Hanson,

Kyle, Louisiana Cypress, Norman-Breux and St. Louis lumber

companies (Interview with Louis Peterson, August 28, 1971).

Some of the canals used to harvest cypress were Bowie,

Cotton, Cousins, Diebert-Stark, Hanson, Himalaya, Hollywood,

Ivanhoe, Louisiana Cypress, Pointe Lavin, St. Louis and others


114

Ché»érh»r *

Figure 52. Louisiana logging canals, circa 1930. Compiledfrom U.S.G.S. Quadrangles dated between 1930 and 1933.

(Appendix 2A). Many were not named, but due to their loca

tion and pattern they can be classified as logging channels

(Appendix 2B, C). The excavation of canals expanded with the

industry and as a result, it is difficult to determine the

lumber companies responsible for their construction.


115

Construction Techniques

Lumber companies could not afford the financial risk

involved in cutting timber in anticipation of the June rise.

If high water failed to come, logs remained on the ground,

inflicting the land owner with a heavy loss (Norgress, 1936,

p. 31). New developments were pursued and with introduction

of the steam-logging engine and pull-boat (Figure 53) "the

cypress manufacturers were independent of rises and unaffected

by droughts" (Norgress, 1936, p. 33).

These two inventions were instrumental in increasing

cypress output. The pull-boat, developed by William Baptist

of New Orleans, would pull into a central canal up to 3,000

feet of logs a day (Norgress, 1936, p. 35). To use the

equipment, lumber companies required canals into logging

areas. Channels were dredged providing pull-boats with a

watercourse from which to work. These waterways were

constructed specifically as access routes; they were essential

to logging operations and provided the necessary connectivity

to successfully harvest cypress. They allowed pull-boats to

drag timber from the swamp into the canal. With this arrange

ment it was imperative that the canal network be continually


116

expanded. To accomplish this, steam-bucket dredges were

used.

Demand for new channels was so great large firms,

such as F. B. Williams, Louisiana Cypress and St. Louis,

maintained their own dredging equipment. This machinery

was in use constantly digging new channels and keeping them

navigable. In some cases, the dredge was constructed in the

swamp and when timber was removed it was left to rot (Inter

view with Harry Brazan, July 13, 1971).

Between 1880 and 1930 there was a tremendous amount

of dredging activity being done by lumber companies. When

they could not use their equipment, or they did not own any,

contractors were employed. Huth and Aycock, one of the first

wetland dredging firms, excavated most contracted canals

between Avery Island and Bayou Lafourche. The company kept

a dredge in the Atchafalaya Basin at all times to work for

lumber companies. Huth and Aycock dredges built the canals

around Grand Lake, along with Hanson, Ivanhoe and the

majority of those south and west of Franklin and Patterson.

With nine dredges, four draglines and a fleet of barges and

towboats the lumber companies were supplied by Huth and

Aycock with the required excavation equipment (Interview with

Stanley Boudreaux, August 26, 1971).


117

To work the swamp, channels from 25 to 30-feet-wide

and about 10-feet-deep were excavated. Several others were

cut at right angles to this canal increasing the areas logged

by pull-boats. These laterals were generally about one-half

to one mile in length and always slightly curved at the

junction with the central channel. This slight curvature

was purposely cut so the log rafts could be pulled easily

around the corner and is one of the identifying character

istics of logging canals. At approximately 300 foot inter

vals, wide spots were dredged. These were built to allow

pull-boats room to maneuver (Figure 54). The canal pattern,

as a result, was a series of generally north-south, east-

west connecting channels (Figure 55) with fan-shaped paths

radiating out from points along the canals (Figure 56).

This distinctive design indicates the areas logged, using

canals and pull-boats (Interview with Wilton J. Stevens,

August 24, 1971).

Every lumber company did not use this system. May

Brothers, for example, developed a ponding technique (Figure

57), where an area approximately one mile by two-miles-long

was marked off with a four-foot-high levee. On one side of

the pond the company cut their main canal which was eight to

ten-feet-wide and about ten-feet-deep (Letter from Jack

Eaton, December 3, 1971).


118

it Irr.Flguce 53. Pull-boat working

in the swamp; the cables are used to pull the logs into the canal (courtesy

Figure 54. Pull-boat andlog raft in one of Louisiana's logging canals (courtesy Bowie

Bowie Lumber Company). Lumber Company).

In the pond, cypress were killed by girdling them

three to four feet from the ground. Loggers flooded the area,

cut the trees and pushed them out of the pond. This method

had, however, limited use. Centered primarily in the area

around Bayou Boeuf and Belle River in the Atchafalaya Basin,

the pond's rectangular shape makes them a distinct landscape

feature (Interview with August Landry, July 8, 1971)».

Logging Canals - A Summary

From 1880 and until 1930 (Appendix 2A), when the cypress

industry began to decline, many swamp canals were constructed.


119

Grand Lake

mMmmmmmFigure 55, Atchafalaya Basin logging canals; note the chan

nel curvature into the main canal, from U.S.G.S. Centerville Quadrangle (1959).


120

Figure 56. The fan-shaped paths radiating out from the logging channels leave distinct pull-boat scars (U.S. Department of Agriculture).

' May Brother*Logging Pond

Little

\Figure 57, May Brothers used a ponding technique to harvest

cypress from U.S.G.S. Napoleonville Quadrangle (1952) .


121These channels often paralleled a bayou and became a part of

the natural drainage system. Some, in the Atchafalaya Basin,

are beginning to fill with sediments, but all remain as

evidence of the importance of canals in cutting, removing

and transporting timber. As relic man-made waterways they

indicate the regions where intensive efforts were made to

harvest cypress; they are a culture element which identifies

logging areas.

Today these channels no longer serve the needs of

the lumber industry. However, many are used by oil compan

ies, sportsmen and trappers. Built by lumber companies,

these channels now serve a variety of interests.


CHAPTER V

PETROLEUM CANALS: LOUISIANA'S LARGESTCANAL NETWORK

Development of South Louisiana's petroleum industry

began at Jennings in 1902 (Figure 1). Emphasis in Louisiana,

however, was in the north; in fact, for 25 years this region

continually produced more petroleum than South Louisiana.

The change in emphasis occurred in the late 1930's, when

new oil and gas fields were discovered in Louisiana's

wetland parishes. Significant additions occurred in 1937

and 1938 when 29 new fields were discovered, nearly doubling

the 30 developed between 1902 and 1937 (Table 1). Why the

sudden change? Why were oil companies beginning to concen

trate their drilling activity in South Louisiana? If oil was

known to exist as early as 1902, why did it take 35 years to

develop new production areas?

Although oil companies were aware that South

Louisiana's coastal salt domes were a probable source of

petroleum, their exploration and drilling programs were

hampered by the logistics and economics involved in working

in the marsh and swamp. "Penetration of these barriers was122


■oI sÛ.

■oCD

(/)COo'3

TABLE 1

MARSH AND SWAMP OIL AND GAS FIELDS, 1926 TO MAY, 1972

85c5'

3CD

Cp.CD■oIcaO3■oO

&

oc%

Assumption Cameron Iberia Iberville Jefferson Lafourche Orleans Plaquemine St. Bernard St. Charles St. James St. John the

Baptist St. Martin St. Mary Terrebonne Vermilion

1 22 1

I g I

2 I

1 1 5 1

1 3 2

1

1

2 1

I

1 2 2 1 1 2

3 3 3

I I

2 1 1 2 1 1 1 2

1 1 1 1 1

1 1

I

2 2

1 I

2 1 3

2

1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 4 1 4 3 5 4 1 5 3 2

i I

1 2 1

1 1 12 1 2 12

2 1 13 4 3 2

117 11

1 2

3 I

1

1 2 3 1 1 I S

3 1 S 6 4 4 1 3 I 83

2 1 2 1 1 2 2 36

1 2

1 2 2 3 4 3 2 6 5 2 3 3

1 I 2 ) 2 4 2

1 2 1

3159

1 1 2 2 1 1 3 0

2 3 1 22 2 3 3 1 1

1 * 2 2 2 4 3 1 3 2 2 1 2 6 1 2 2 I 62

I 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 I 16

21 3

2 2 1 1 2 111

3 1 2 2 2 2 3

111 11 1 2 1 4 2 1 1 3

2 5 2 1 2

3 3 4 5 7 1 0 8 1 2 4 1

1 237

1 1 >1 2 32

2 3 2 1 4 34

3 6 2 3 2 1 3 2 95

5 5 1 6 9 3 4 2 2 1 4 2 1 3 1 2 2 1 66

(/)wd3

Total 5 2 6 1 4 I 1 8 2 10 19 9 12 13 7 7 4 6 5 6 8 14 7 10 23 18 24 26 38 39 37 17 21 18 13 10 15142822 21 18 U 12 6 623

Source; Biennial Report Dept, of Conservation 1932-1933; Petroleum Production in Louisiana 1942-1955; Oil and Gas Map May, 1972.

w

124

delayed until the late 1930's when equipment and techniques

were developed which enabled [mineral] exploration of the

coastal marshes" (Davis, 1969, p. 14).

The problem was not accessibility. Wetland dredging

procedures had been perfected in the 1800's. This technology

was available and dredges were capable of excavating the

required petroleum and natural gas watercourses. Exploration

delay was related to the perfection of drilling equipment

capable of operating in aquatic environments (Figure 58).

New technology had to be developed before drilling could

begin.

This occurred in the mid-1930's when "the first

submersible drilling barge was built for inland waters"

(McGhee and Hoot, 1963, p. 151). With completion of this

equipment, it was now possible to expand drilling activity.

To drill for petroleum, well sites had to be dredged. It is

claimed that in 1938, barge-mounted draglines were employed

in digging "the first drilling site ever prepared by floating

equipment" (McGhee and Hoot, 1963, p. 151) (Figure 59).

This is incorrect.

The oldest petroleum related canal was apparently

built in 1926 at Venice. This channel, excavated by Villere

and Brest for the Gulf Oil Company (Interview with W. P.


125

Figure 58. Collapsed floating Figure 59. One of the numer- drilling platform ous canals usedthat can be pulled to gain access toto a well site. well sites.

Villere, April 15, 1971), marked the beginning of the oil

industries efforts io channelization. Dredging activity

occurred prior to 1935 when canals were a part of'the Bayou

Blue and Bayou Des Clase fields, in the Atchafalaya Basin,

and Grande Ecaille field, in the marsh west of Empire (Figure

60) .

Successful operation of the submersible drilling

barge and excavation of canals with barge mounted draglines,

bucket and suction dredges, opened the coastal zone to

petroleum development. This equipment was so successful that

out of 623 (as of May, 1972) oil and gas fields (tabulated

in Table 1), 328 or over 50 percent are actually in the


126

tLàmétkmf *

nhltknd

OÜ Derrick

Figure 60. Principal petroleum fields, circa 1930, from U.S.G.S. Quadrangles dated between 1930 and 1933.

swamps and marshes. Their location has made the petroleum

industry the greatest wetland ceinal builder.

The industry constructed network of petroleum access,

pipeline and transportation canals have become a dynamic

part of the landscape and, as a result of the constant

addition of new channels, the system continues to grow.

Thus, Louisiana's coastal plain in dominated by a massive

system of man-made canals (Figure 61). The addition of new

channels is a continuous process, but no effort is made to

fill in the old ones. When a canal is cut, it often becomes


127

Figure 61. Venice dome and the massive system of man-made canals associated with the oil and gas fields in the area (N.A.S.A. photo).

a permanent feature. In some oil fields, such as Catfish

Lake, straight-sided channels have become cuspated (Figure

62). Erosion altered the channel characteristics, and like

some trainasses these waterways will eventually become bayous,

The work, therefore, of the canal builders has had a

decisive and cumulative impact on the wetlands environment.

Canalization of natural streams invariable alters their flow regime. In upland areas canals may change runoff characteristics, usually improving drainage.In lowlands they alter both runoff and storage and may also seriously upset natural circulation patterns and water chemistry. In general, although the effects of canals on wetlands environments are more difficult to evaluate, it is likely that they are more pronounced than in upland areas (Gagliano, 1971, p. 1).


128

figure 62. Catfish Lake petroleum field; note the cuspated channels and coalescence between canals (courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1966 air-photo mosaic).

One immediate effect is the change in salinity

regimes. For example. Lake DeCade (in Terrebonne Parish),

prior to the excavation of lake channels, was well stocked

with catfish (Interview with Randolph Bazet, July 23, 1971).

With construction of Falgout Canal and channelizing of Bayou

DeCade the lake's salinity has increased enough so that

shrimp now breed there (Interview with Linwood Marlbrough,

July 22, 1971) (Figure 48). Channels into the lake altered

the salinity regime. This is a significant change when one

considers the numerous canals built as integral parts of the

328 oil and gas fields along the coast and their possible

influence on salinity.


129

To reduce the environmental impact of canals, dams,

weirs and other protective measures are being employed. The

marsh is no longer considered worthless, but an important

aquatic habitat. It is, therefore, worth protecting. Oil

and natural gas continue to produce the greatest revenue

from the coastal zone, but these are non-renewable resources.

Aquatic life, on the other hand, will continually use the

estuarine environment as a breeding area. Consequently,

protective measures are being initiated to try to preserve

this habitat (Figure 63).

Figure 63, One of the numerous water-control structures now being constructed in the marsh. These weirs are generally being placed on pipeline canals where they cross a bayou.


130

Development of Petroleum Dredging

Just how important to [the] petroleum [industry] are its dredging operations? Without them, scores of fields along the Gulf Coast would never have been discovered; thousands of miles of trunk and gathering pipelines could never have been laid; great volumes of crude oil could not be moved by barge.In short, without dredges, a large share of the nation's oil and gas would be just where it was 25 years ago — beyond economic reach.

In spite of its size and importance, the captive dredging industry chews through sweunps and marsh with so little fanfare and with so much efficiency many inland drillers, producers and pipeliners are completely unaware of the existence of petroleum industry dredging (McGhee and Hoot, 1963, p. 150).

Large-scale coastal dredging began in the late 1930's.

As a result, by 1950, 121 new fields had been developed

(Table 1). In 1947, the exploration for petroleum took on

a new dimension when Kerr-McGhee Oil Industries drilled

the first well classified as "offshore" (Louisiana Depart

ment of Conservation, 1948-49, p. 26) (Figure 64). This

development meant oil companies must establish large land-

based logistic support facilities to supply the offshore

activities (Figure 65). Boats would have to be used to move

men and equipment and canals needed to be cut.

To perform the work required in canal excavation

four bssic types of equipment are used; hydraulic or suction


131dredges/ bucket dredges, spud barges outfitted with portable

draglines and marsh buggies equipped with small draglines.

Hydraulic Dredges

Hydraulic dredges were first employed in France in

1867 and became essentially an "American tool," because

European construction engineers preferred ladder dredges

(Simon, 1920, p. 109). Suction dredges (Figure 66) are

efficient because they not only cut into the bottom with

large rotating cutterheads (Figure 67), but also deposit

the material through pipelines into spoil areas. The dredge

size is determined by the pump, which varies from 12 to 48

inches. However, "the twenty-inch dredge is generally

conceded the most advantageous for all-around work" (Simon,

1920, p. 60). In 1970, there were 45 suction dredges in

Louisiana — eleven 16 inch and 22 larger than 20 inch

(World Directory of Dredging, 1970, pp. 36, 37).

While [this machinery] can be used in all classes of material short of solid rock, it is most efficient in handling homogeneous material that is not excessively hard, such as silt, mud, sand, clay and gravel,. . . Mud and fine sand are regarded as the best hydraulic materials. . . . (Simon, 1920, pp. 109, 110)

Due to the physical characteristics of Louisiana's

marsh this is an extremely efficient excavating tool.

Equipped with the proper cutterhead and capable of dredging


132

ii'-•r-t..."- 'a#% -3-#■ .-"T f,."-# h

,1*.

Figure 64. Offshore oil well. Figure 65, To supply the marsh and offshore oil fields, large land-based logistic facilities have been established, like this one in Houma.

Figure 66, The hydraulic or suction dredge is the most efficient excavation tool used in digging canals.


133

Figure 67. Typical hydraulic dredge cutterhead used to excavate a canal.

to a depth of 50 feet, these machines are used in constructing

navigable waterways and flood control projects. However,

there are problems, such as :

1. stumps, logs amd other trash which is hard to pass through centrifugal pumps ;

2. pockets of gas entrapped in the material which causes severe cavitation and turbulence in the pumping system;

3. job locations in remote areas are difficult to reach ; and

4. extremely stiff clay soils, which are difficult to cut with the dre^^e cutterhead, are hard to pump due to the weight of the material (Letter from A. W..Henry, May 5, 1971).


134

The dredge Is limited to laurge jobs and rarely used

on small well sites. Along channels excavated with hydraulic

dredges, the spoil is typically "deposited in small hillocks

or mounds in the vicinity of the tail pipe" and "since the

tail pipe is moved only periodically, the embankment formed

by this types of spoil is often discontinuous (Gagliano,

1971, p. 4). In that this machinery is rarely used in oil

field work the most common type of equipment is the bucket

dredge and spud barge.

Bucket Dredge

The bucket dredge is the principal piece of equipment

employed in cutting oil-we11-access canals. These dredges

consist of a bucket or clam-shell dredge permanently mounted

on a barge-type hull (Figure 68). Position and movement of

the dredge is controlled by movable spuds, which can be

thrust into the bottom to anchor the barge in position while

digging.

Two buckets are used, clam-shell (Figure 69) and

orange-peel (Figure 8). "Both have the same principle of

operation, but differ in that the clam-shell has two jaws

or shells while the orange-peel has three or four" (Simon,

1920, p. 6). Working with a six to ten-cubic yard bucket.


I135

Figure 68, Barge-mounted bucket Figure 69. Small cleun-dredge being moved to shell bucket,a new job site. used on bucket

type dredges.

the dredge can cut the standard 70-feet-wide, 10-feet-deep,

oil-well-access channel without any lateral movement (Simon,

1920, p. 156). The usual practice is that the dredge will

be outfitted with 145 feet of boom for an eight-cubic yard

bucket and 125 feet for a six. Using # six-yard bucket an

operator can excavate, on a good day, 18 to 22,000 cubic-

yards. The average is about 15,000, which will increase

slightly with an eight-yard bucket (Interview with W. A.

Shelton, April 23, 1971).

Problems occur when the dredge is digging clay or

sand. Clay is difficult to dig and sand tends to filter

through the bucket reducing the equipment's efficiency.

However, these are relatively minor problems.


136

The bucket dredge is the workhorse in channel work

(Figure 70); it digs the canal and usually leaves a "continu

ous embankment of spoil on one or both sides of the excava

tion" (Gagliano, 1971, p. 4). It is also extensively

employed in channel maintenance. Silting and bank collapse

are two major contributors to altering the channel's pro

file and changing depths. Oil companies contract for an

eight-foot channel, but will pay for a two-foot "overdepth"

to reduce maintenance. When clean-out work is required,

costs increase. It is to the oil companies benefit to exca

vate a larger channel than required, rather than pay rental

on a dredge doing channel maintenance. The problem of

siltation is difficult to predict. In the Mississippi Delta,

for example, one canal may have to be cleaned out twice a

year, but due to changes in silting it may not be redredged

for two years. In other regions, some canals may not be

cleaned for ten years. Consequently, as much as 50 percent

of some dredging firms business is involved in channel

maintenance.

Bucket dredges do the work in developing marsh and

swamp oil and gas fields, but spud barges provide the

versatility in clearing swamp locations and laying pipeline.

They are used on most small jobs.


137

Figure 70. Barge-mountéd bucket dredge working in one of Louisiana's coastal lakes.

Spud Barges

Spud barges are "similar to bucket dredges, but the

dragline is not permanently fixed to the barge" (Gagliano,

1971, p. 4) (Figure 71). In that the machine is equipped

with a crawler undercarriage it can be moved off the barge

to work on shore. This versatility is extremely valuable

in excavating a pipeline channel, clearing a swamp location

or improving a levee. The dragline is particularly useful

because it can handle wet as well as dry excavation success

fully (Power Crane and Shovel Association, 1968, p. 19).


138

Figure 71. Spud barge equipped with a small mobile dragline ; the vertical columns are the spuds, which are lowered into the water to stabilize the barge.

Projects involving ditch excavation through swamp or soft

terrain are well suited for draglines.

Since the dragline is such a versatile tool it can

be equipped with various boom lengths and bucket sizes

depending on the output desired and work range needed for

spoil placement (Table 2).

This sample of buckets is representative of those

used in the coastal zone. In Louisiana's wetlands, the 2-1/2-

yard bucket (Figure 72) is about the largest employed in

channel work. Draglines, like bucket dredges, place a


139

TABLE 2

COMMON BUCKETS USED ON DRAGLINES

Bucket Size in cubic yds. 3/8 1/2 1 1-1/2 2 2-1/2

Standard 25» 30» 40 ' 45' 50' 60'boom length to

35» 40» 55» 60' 90' 100'

Class of Material

Light moist 5/0» 5.5» 6'6' 7.4» 8.0' 8.5' Optimum d .clay or loam 70 95 160 220 265 305 yards/hour

Sand or 5.0» 5.5» 6.6' 7.4» 8.0' 8.5'gravel 65 90 155 210 255 295

Good common 6.0» 6.7» 8.0' 9.0' 9.9' 10.5'earth 55 75 135 190 230 265

Clay, hard 7.3» 8.0» 9.3' 10.7' 11.8' 12.3'tough 35 55 110 160 195 230

Clay, wet. 7.3» 8.0» 9.3' 10.7' 11.8' 12.3'sticky 35 30 75 110 145 175

d. depthSource; Power Crane and Shovel Association, 1966, pp. 11, 12


140

Figure 72. The 2-1/2-yard bucket is about the largest used by draglines.

continuous mound of spoil on either bank immediately adjacent

to the canal. These artificial ridges often become colonized

with vegetation; thus, the canal pattern is outlined by the

flora's accumulation.

Marsh Buggies

The fourth type of equipment utilized in channel work

is a small dragline mounted on a marsh buggy (Figure 73).

Marsh buggies are widely used by oil companies in running

seismic profiles, laying pipeline and as the principal vehicle

in crossing the marsh. To increase their usefullness Richie

Dragline and Quality Boiler equipped their buggies with

small draglines.


141

Figure 73. Marsh buggy draglines are used to excavate small channels, such as those associated with laying pipelines.

This type of machine is used primarily for laying pipeline through marsh areas. It simply cuts a ditch for floating in the pipe,, eliminating the necessity for dredging a full-scale canal to accommodate the pipeline-laying barge. While this type of operation produces far less spoil, marsh buggy tracks often cause pronounced changes in the marsh surface, particularly in areas of floating marsh, where the floating vegetation mat may be permanently damaged (Gagliano, 1971, p. 4).

Petroleum Canals - A Summary

The combined work of this construction equipment has

produced a spectacular network of artificial waterways

(Figure 61). These man-made channels can be divided into

three types, those to build well sites, those used for

pipeline right-of-way and those used for oil-logistic support


142vessels and the movement of petroleum barges.

Although the standard oil-field canal is contracted

to 70-feet-wide and eight-feet-deep, because of the allowance

for overdepth and erosion, many channels are 200-feet-wide

and 10 to 12-feet-deep (Figure 74), enlargement being at

tributed to scour and erosion. At the channel terminons

is the well site, which is usually 150-feet-wide and up to

350-feet-long with the well placed approximately 50 feet

from the back and right bank (Figure 75).

The development of an oil and gas field is a random but cumulative process; that is, the first exploratory

well is usually drilled on the basis of some geophysical data. The exploratory well provides additional information, which influences the location of the next well. Each new well drilled adds to the understanding of subsurface structure and stratigraphy and in its turn aids in the selection of new drilling sites. Thus, the full development of an oil and gas field cannot be planned in advance. . . .

The human factor further complicates surface canal configuration. After the geologist has selected the point at which he would like to drill, the land men secure surface rights-of-way and permits for access to the proposed drilling site. The routing of the access canal is dictated largely by property boundaries and locations of navigable waterways, and it generally cuts across natural drainage lines and surface at random angles (Gagliano, 1971, p. 6).

Oil companies, in developing petroleum fields, cut a

series of primary channels which serve as principal access

routes. From these main channels other canals are added, all


143

Figure 74. Typical well-access channel; note the straightness, spoil bank and well site.

to 10 deep

300

Figure 75. Diagram of theoil canal terminons point.

connecting to the main waterway. As a result, the network,

filters into these central traffic arteries and allows oil

companies easy access to well sites. Although a field may

have developed over a period of up to 40 years, all new

canals and appendages will interconnect resulting in a web

of channels (Figure 61). Through time the system expands

with each new well. In that one canal usually represents one

well, some oil fields may have 30 miles of canals within a

six square mile area. Consequently, land areas are reduced,

due to continuous addition of new canals and channel enlarge

ment associated with erosion (Figure 76).


144

yA 4

É S M M

Figure 76. Lafitte oil field indicating the growth patternin one of the alluvial wetland oil and gas fields, from U.S.G.S. Barataria Quadrangle (1962).

As the canal pattern increases in density, channels

begin to coalesce producing small lakes and bays. Unless

sediments or fill are added, this land is permanently lost.

After the field has been fully developed, the man-made canal

system is the dominate element on the landscape. Once

mineral resources have been depleted, the canal network re

mains as evidence of this economic activity. They are

artificial landscape features that will endure.


145

Pipeline Canals

To ship petroleum and natural gas to storage tank

complexes or refineries, oil companies rely on barges and

pipelines. Although barge transport offers greater flexi

bility in the ease with which changes can be made in both

origin and destination of cargoes, this transport method

accounts for only 24 percent of the state's petroleum

commerce. Pipelines carry about 75 percent. They are an

important part of petroleum companies oil field develop

ment programs (Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, 1968,

p. 1) .

In the coastal zone, pipeline placement is accomplish

ed by excavating a canal along the right-of-way. Since these

routes are often several miles long and as straight as oil

companies can make them, they have become an integral and

distinct addition to the landscape (Figure 77).

On state and some privately cvmed property a system

of dams, dikes and weirs (Figure 63) has been employed to

reduce the potential environmental damage of pipeline canals.

These water-control structures are placed on the channel at

every point where it crosses a natural waterway. Pipeline

canals, consequently, have numerous barriers across them

(Figure 63); these dams are one of the identifying aspects of

these channels.


146Pipeline canals, which are 50-feet-wide and 10-feet-

deep, appear as distinct landscape features and are an

important component in the oil industry's efforts to move

their products from the field to the refinery.

Oil Field Transport Channels

To develop successfully an oil or gas field petro

leum companies need access into the area. When the natural

drainage system does not provide a route, a canal is cut.

These channels become the principal means of moving men and

machinery into the region being developed (Figures 61, 62,

and 76). Due to usage, these transport channels often

become wider than the well-access canals. The extra width

is a result of bank collapse caused by boat traffic along

the channel and identifies the principal transportation

arteries into the oil and gas fields.


CHAPTER VI

OTHER CANAL-LIKE FEATURES

In addition to the five canal types used to develop

wetland resources, are two canal-like excavations that,

although resembling artificial waterways, do not serve the

traditional functions of canals. In the Chenier Plain

dredged material from long, rectangular ponds is used for

cattle walkways. Also, within the marsh small ditches were

cut to mark property boundaries. Each of these excavations

provides a distinct service and is a unique landscape

element.

Cattle Walkways

Cattlemen on the Chenier Plain graze their cattle in

the marsh. To provide livestock with dry areas. Dr. M. 0.

Miller of Grand Chenier has built a number of walkways into

the marsh. These "cattle trails" are constructed from marsh

soil obtained from linear channels at the walkway site. The

first walkways were built from spoil removed from an excava

tion paralleling the length of the project. This method of

construction proved to be detrimental to the marsh. To reduce147


148

the possible environmental impact, staggered ditches were

built. This new construction technique has created a dis

tinct landscape feature (Interview with Eugene Broussard,

October, 12, 1971). On air photos cattleways are bounded

on both sides by a series of small ponds strung out in a

line. No longer is one long channel necessary.

Boundary Ditches

Small ditches are often used to delimit property

boundaries; they serve as the fences of the marsh. These

boundary markers are especially important today because of

the coastal oil activity. It is essential that a lemd

owner knows the limits of his property, so he can claim any

royalties; due him from petroleum discovered on his land.

Small ditches, often patrolled by boat or airboat, are used

as boundaries.

These channels often follow the line established by

the township and range system of land division. Therefore,

their angularity is in direct contrast in surface form with

other canals, particularly the sinuosity of the traînasse.

Boundary channels are easily identified by their sharp right

angles and straightness, thereby producing a distinct

landscape pattern. This is not the pattern created by


149

trappers, who build numerous interconnecting ditches/ but

by land owners seeking accurate land division.


CHAPTER VII

CANAL DEVELOPMENT

To Illustrate the uncontrolled growth of canal

patterns through time, six quadrangles — Barataria, Bayou

Du Large, Centerville, Lake Felicity, Pecan Island and West

Delta — were selected for detailed analysis (Figure 77A).

An effort was made to select areas that contained the most

representative examples of the canal patterns occurring in

coastal Louisiana. These patterns, as shown on the idealized

representation of the various canal networks (Figure 77B),

can be readily identified on the land. Each type has cer

tain characteristics which distinguishes it from the others.

Patterns

Drainage Ditches

Drainage ditches (Figure 77B-1) are small narrow

features, crossing natural levees and usually connecting into

a backswamp canal which parallels the natural levees. They

have been constructed in such large numbers that they not only

provide the farmer with adequate drainage, but due to their

density and location, can be easily identified as drainage150


151

%

Marih Boundary

I Swamp

(Modili«d from th* A llot of lovltiona)

Figure 77A. Case study quadrangles location.

OroiAog* - 1 TroifWiM -3

logging - 4

[TOFigure 77B. Idealized canal network patterns.


152channels. On the other hand^ special drainage systems, such

as those resulting from reclamation projects, have a distinct

canal grid. This orderly grid confined within a levee

network outlining the property, is the principal element in

recognizing this type of drainage pattern.

Problems are encountered in identifying old drainage

channels, in that mamy have become transportation canals

and no longer have the size characteristics of a drainage

ditch. Due to their location it is difficult to determine

their original function. There are no identifying charac

teristics and a documents search is required to discover the

original purpose. On the other hand, new ditches and reclama

tion patterns can be easily identified.

Transportation Canals

Transportation channels (Figure 77B-2) are wide,

straight, distinct features which provide open-ended links

between points. As potential routes of commerce, they are

excavated in regions which will improve commodity movements.

Often extending for miles in a general east-west direction,

the transportation canal is a dominate landscape element.

The smaller transportation channels are not as easily

recognized as such, but an analysis of their location aids


153

in identifying their function. When a canal connects bayous,

lakes, or settlements, it was probably excavated for trans

portation purposes. These channels, may be confused with

pipeline canals, which are also wide and straight, but the

absence of numerous water-control structures along the

transportation canal routes separates them from pipeline

right-of-way.

Traînasse

The traînasse (Figure 77B-3), like the drainage ditch,

is a small narrow feature, which often meanders across the

marsh. It is found in trapping and hunting areas or as

connections into settlements. Junctions are rarely at right

angles and the traînasse builder makes maximum use of the

natural system. The traînasse, therefore, connects into

existing waterways. Its sinuosity and size are its princi

pal distinguishing qualities.

Logging Canals

Logging canals (Figure 77B-4) usually have fan

shaped pull-boat trails radiating out into the swamp from

points along the canals. An exception to this general pat

tern results when ponds were made in the areas logged by May

Brothers Lumber Compemy. When this logging method was


154employed the canal pattern was rectangular. In the regions

of the greatest logging activity the pattern is well develop

ed and consists of a central channel with several laterals

leading into the swamp. These canals are identified by a

small curve connecting into the main canal. The pull-boat

trail, pattern and swamp location are all additional identi

fying properties of logging canals.

Petroleum Canals

Petroleum canals (Figure 77B-5) can be distinguished

from other types because of the dense grid which results

from numerous interconnecting channels. Appendages join this

net to the central canals.

Case Studies

The following case studies show the expansion and

enlargement of the various canal networks during the past 30

years, as well as, the changes that have occurred in the

types of canals excavated. The maps (Figures 78-83) prepared

from the six quadrangles (see page 157). are-:a compilation of

all canals shown on the available historic maps, except that

since 1968 only petroleum-related canals are used. This

qualification was made because of the complex nature of the

numerous small drainage, logging and trapping channels as


155

they appear on a 1968 air-photo mosaic, which was the source

of the 1968 data. To provide the sequential evidence of

canal growth and expansion within each area, maps represen

tative of at least three time; periods ' (except on the

Centerville quadrangle, where only two maps were used)

between 1930 and 1968 were utilized.

Despite the fact that the maps used were selected

because they had a prevalence of particular patterns, they

nonetheless still show how the petroleum industry, in a

relatively short period, has become the primary force behind

the expansion of canal networks across the coastal zone.

In each time period, the case studies illustrate man's

ability to reshape the landscape in order to obtain re

sources. Currently, the petroleum industry dominates; but

prior to its canal building activities, canals, somewhat

smaller in scope, were used to exploit other products.

These case studies further reveal the shifts in

resource exploitation and show how Louisiana's alluvial

wetlands have become dominated by artificial waterways.

Each study considers only one section within the plain, but

all reveal the significance of canals as landscape elements.


156

Barataria

The first topographic maps of this region, those of

1939, show that the landscape was dominated by canals

associated with drainage, logging, reclamation and trapping.

These activities accounted for the 54 miles of man-made

channels (Figure 78) that appear on these early maps. During

the next nine years, no new canals were added to these

systems. However, 46 miles of petroleum-related canals

had been excavated, representing the first appearance of

this canal type and the beginning of petroleum exploration

activity. By 1962, 14 years later, an additional 156 miles

of well-access channels had been constructed, an increase of

over 300 percent, or an average of 11 miles of canals/year.

In addition, there were 15 miles of drainage chêmnels added

to the network that appears on the 1939 maps.

Six years later, dredging of petroleum-related

channels had been reduced to approximately five miles/year.

Between 1962 and 1968 only 32 miles of canals had been added

to the oil fields shown on the Barataria quadrangle, possibly

indicating that the 234 miles of canals are enough to accom

modate the oil industries continuing exploration program in

that area.


157

1962MMotCoMb andTrakMMM

hlrebum-Maltd Coneb

1968 PHrabum-IUbtad

Conob

T u r t i ê

ï>

r f V ^

Figure 78. Canal growth emd expansion in the Barataria region between 1939 and 1968. Compiled from U.S.G.S. Quadrangles (1939 to 1962) and a 1968 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers air-photo mosaic.


158

Along with these channels, there are 69 miles of

smaller canals, which represents only 23 percent of the

channels in this region. It is apparent that the oil indus

try, in the last 20 years, has been responsible for the

expansion of the canal system, accounting for 77 percent

of the man-made waterways appearing on the 1968 map.

Bayou Du Large

In this portion of the Deltaic Plain the 1944

quadrangle shows there were 29 miles of transportation

channels, 20 miles of traînasses and four miles of petroleum

canals. Between 1944 and 1964 construction of transporta

tion channels declined and the traînasse became the princi

pal canal type. In 20 years the system of trapping ditches

increased at the rate of nine miles/year. Consequently, by

1964 there were 197 miles (Figure 79) of traînasses in this

region. This canal type, therefore, dominates the landscape

and has continued to represent the largest number of miles

of channels excavated.

During the same period, the petroleum industry con

structed 65 miles of well-access channels, or about three

and one-half miles/year. By 1968, they had built a total of

94 miles of channels, representing about 29 percent of the


159

Thêriot

/

i1

DilckM

Figure 79. Canal growth and expansion in the Bayou Du Large region between 1944 and 1968. Compiled from U.S. G.S. Quadrangles (1944 to 1964) and a 1968 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers air-photo mosaic.


160

canals constructed. The system of petroleum-related channels

has been expanded through the addition of small appendages

to the existing canal network. This procedure has expanded

the oil fields, but reduced the number of miles of channels

in the region. However, within the petroleum fields the

small channels have coalesced into a network of connecting

waterways contributing to land loss.

Centerville

In this region the logging industry, prior to 1930,

was actively cutting cypress. To remove the swamp timber

approximately 40 miles of canals were excavated. After 1930,

no new channels were cut, indicating that this resource

activity had been terminated. This canal type represents

about 18 percent of the area's channels (Figure 80).

The agricultural land along Bayou Teche was drained,

in 1930, by 60 miles of ditches. The system doubled by

1959, expanding at the rate of about two miles/year. The

29 year record shows that drainage channels were the princi

pal canal type excavated in this area. This system was

expanded as new land was brought into production.

Along with drainage and logging canals the 1959

record reveals that about 90 miles of petroleum-related


161

1930— Drekege Conali leggkg Condi

1969 Drokogo Conob..... Potreloum-tolokd Conob

9 1____ Î____ Î J

\ .

rinklin..

Centerville

Figure 80, Canal growth and expansion in the Centerville region between 1930 and 1959. Compiled from U.S.G.S. Quadrangles (1940 to 1959).


162channels had been excavated. Primarily built in the

Atchafalaya Basin, these channels provided the petroleum

industry with adequate well-access. This area does not

appear on the 1968 air-photo mosaic; consequently, the most

recent petroleum activity is not shown.

Lake Felicity

In the area shown on the Lake Felicity Quadrangle,

trappers had cut 39 miles of traînasses by 1939. These

"pirogue trails," along with 14 miles of transportation canals

and 23 miles of drainage ditches (which may have also served

as marsh-access routes), were the principal waterways in this

region. In 1939 there were 79 miles of man-made waterways

on the landscape. Twenty-five years later, 359 miles of new

canals had been excavated, representing an increase of about

460 percent.

One-hundred and sixty-eight miles of these new

channels were associated with the petroleum industry's

exploration program. This was the greatest increase in any

one canal type. Since 1964, an average of about 10 miles/

year has been added, thereby, expanding the density of

petroleum waterways. Consequently, by 1968, 211 miles of

petroleum-related canals had been dredged, or 44 percent of

the channels indicated on the 1939 to 1968 quadrangles and


1 6 3

air-photo mosaic.

Within this area petroleum waterways dominate the

landscape. However, along with these channels, the 1964

quadrangle shows that 119 miles of drainage ditches had been

constructed. These canals, like those on the Centerville

map, were built to expand the amount of cultivatable land

bordering the bayous. The ditches are also an important

landscape component, representing 29 percent of the channels

shown on Figure 81. In addition to these canal types,

trappers between 1939 and 1964 added 64 miles of traînasses,

accounting for 22 percent of the 478 miles of artificial

watercourses on this quadrangle. During the same period,

13 miles of boundary ditches were cut.

Pecan Island

By 1951 the traînasse, which had a total length of

310 miles, was the principal type of canal in this portion

of the Chenier Plain (Figure 82). This was a substantial

increase over the two miles of trapping trails shown on the

1932 quadrangle. Local informants claim that there were

more than two miles of trapping ditches in the marsh sur

rounding Pecan Island, but these traînasses do not appear on

the 1932 map. The length of ditches shown on this quadrangle


164

m1939

Dfqinoç# Conol» and TroinoiM

Troniportotion Conoii

1964Bowndary DitcKai, Dminop#

ConoU, and TrainotM

Mrotoum ■ Wa##d Comok

1968PttroUum'Rablad Canok

f â l i e t t y

L â k ê Rêccourc !

Figure 81. Canal growth and expansion in the Lake Felicity region between 1939 and 1968. Compiled from U.S. G.S. Quadrangles (1939 to 1964) and a 1968 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers air-photo mosaic.


165

1982TMrhm

Wewperterten Cewli1961

htmkim KekW Canab

1968fm lw im -W eled C o **

Mulbcrrjr liland

O fM E X I C O

Figure 82. Canal growth and expansion in the Pecan Island region between 1932 and 1968. Compiled from U.S. G.S. Quadrangles (1932 to 1951) and a 1968 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers air-photo mosaic.


166

is, therefore, misleading. During the next 19 years ap

proximately 310 miles of traînasses were constructed, primar

ily by hunter's building routes into their leases and not

trappers trying to efficiently utilize the marsh.

Oil field channels first appear on the 1952 map,

when the area was traversed by 31 miles of petroleum water

ways. Seventeen years later the oil industry had added

another 52 miles to give a cumulative total, in 1968, of 84

miles of well-access canals. Due to the nature of the marsh

in the Chenier Plain, many oil wells are now drilled from

board roads extending to the well-site. This practice is

reducing the number of petroleum-related canals in the area.

West Delta

In this section of the Mississippi Delta petroleum

canals dominate the landscape. In 1935, only three miles of

petroleum waterways were mapped. By 1953, the oil industry

had added 32 miles of channels, or about two miles/year.

Between 1953 and 1968 the industry excavated an additional

101 miles of new canals, or an increase of about 300 percent

(Figure 83).


167

Figure 83. Canal growth and expansion in the West Delta region between 1935 and 1968. Compiled from U.S. G.S. Quadrangles (1932 to 1953) and a 1968 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers air-photo mosaic.


168

The Future

In the process of canal construction in the swamp and

marshy canal builders have modified drainage patterns,

altered flora and fauna, changed salinity regimes and

contributed to land loss. There is not enough quantitative

material available to estimate the total effect canals have

had on the environment. Field investigations show, and

nearly all informants note, that changes are occurring.

Water areas that were fresh are now brackish, which has

often resulted in a change in the vegetative communities ;

traînasses have enlarged into bayous, contributing to land

loss.

Canals have had an environmental impact and based on

the present-day trend of canal development, it appears the

canals of the future will continue to further modify the

coastal zone. Petroleum companies will expand their canal

systems by adding new channels to their existing oil fields

and as new fields are developed they will dredge canals

within these areas. This will be the most continuous source

of new canals. In conjunction with canal construction dams,

dikes and weirs will be required to protect the marsh habitat.


169

Oil companies are likely to remain the major producer

of canals for sometime. However, industries and private

citizens will continue to be involved in canal construction,

for a variety of purposes.

Past history indicates clearly the oil industry's

zealous activity in canal building; the landscape shows how

the total system has modified local habitats. People raised

in the marsh have witnessed the environmental transitions

which have accompanied canal construction. Although it is

difficult to assess the total change, some of which may

have been detrimental, canal construction appears to be an

essential variable in environmental modifications. The

marsh has changed; and the people who knew what it was like

70 years ago are generally not optimistic about its future.


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PERSONAL INTERVIEWS AND COMMUNICATIONS

Bazet, Randolph, retired Clerk of Court, Terrebonne Parish. Houma, La., July 23, 1971.

Bonin, Ted, retired trapper and fisherman. Avery Island, La., October 6, 1971.

Boudreaux, Stanley, bookkeeper Huth and Aycock Dredging Company. Garden City, La., August 26, 197x.

Boyne, William, retired employee Louisiana Land and Exploration Company, Houma, La., July 29, 1971.

Brazen, Harry, manager Weibre-Steib Plantation. Vactierie, La., July 31, 1971.

Broussard, Eugene, retired trapper and game warden. Pecan Island, La., October 12, 1971.

Cheramie, Elie, owner Cheramie Marsh Buggies Incorporated. Cut Off, La., December 29, 1971.


178Crain, John Paul, President Crain Brother Construction

Company. Grand Chenier, La., October 20, 1971.

Creppel, Mr. and Mrs, Mathew, trapper and oyster fishermen. Lafitte, La., December 14, 1971.

Duet, Felecin, trapper. Cut Off, La., December 10, 1971.

Dyson, Alvin, employee Miami Land Corporation. Cameron, La., October 25, 1971.

Eaton, Jack, President May Brother's Lumber Company. Lafayette, La., December 3, 1971.

Hebert, Mark, manager of Vermilion Corporation Land Company. Abbeville, La., October 19, 1971.

Henry, A. W., President Henry Dredging Corporation. Tampa, Florida, May 5, 1971.

Landry, August, retired foreman Rathborne Land Company. Chackbay, La., July 8, 1971.

Lapeyrouse, J. J., owner Lapeyrouse grocery store. Lapeyrouse, La., July 21, 1971.

Lege, Mr. and Mrs. Pierre, trappers. Intracoastal City, La., October 7, 1971; October 8, 1971.

Marlbrough, Linwood, employee LaTerre Land Company. Houma, La., July 28, 1971.

Martin, Abdon, retired lock master for the SouthwestLouisiana Canal. Golden Meadow, La., December 29, 1971.

O'Neil, Ted, Director, Fur Division, Louisiana Wildlifeand Fisheries. New Orleans, La., December 6, 1971.

Peterson, Louis, retired logger for Bowie and RathborneLumber Companies. Franklin, La., August 28, 1971.

Pitre, Hyman, oyster fisherman. Cut Off, La., December 29, 1971.


179

Plaisance, Lester, retired trapper and President, Plaisance Dragline. Golden Meadow, La., December 20, 1971.

Rosco, J., lock master on Harvey Canal. Harvey, La.,March 13, 1971.

Schexnayder, Nick, retired patrolman on Audubon Refuge. Abbeville, La., October 15, 1971.

Shelton, W. A., General Manager, Guy Scroggings, Incorporated. New Orleans, La., April 23, 1971.

Smith, Arthur, member of the Louisiana State University Law faculty. Baton Rouge, La., August 22, 1971.

Stevens, Wilton J., resident of Stevensville and patrolman for the levee board. Morgan City, La., August 24, 1971.

Sturlese, Moise. Chenier Plain cattleman. Creole, La., October 19, 1971.

Thomas, J. C., partner in Kraemer éuid Miller Consulting Engineers. Franklin, La., August 26, 1971.

Treadaway, Ben, amateur archaeologist and historian.Violet, La., December 17, 1971.

Vignes, Marshall, manager LaTerre Land Company. Houma,La., July 16, 1971.

Villere, Walter, President, W. P. Villere General Contractor. New Orleans, La., April 15, 1971.


APPENDICES


APPENDIX I

INVENTORY OF TRANSPORTATION CANALS 1887 TO 1930

AS SHOWN ON FIGURE 83

CanalApprox,Date Purpose

Amoureux 1930 This traînasse was cut by trappersas a by-pass into Lake Salvador from the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Current maps show that the canal has been filled in.

Avery

Bayou LaCache

1850 As one of the oldest privately builtcanals along the coast, this channel continues to transport salt from Avery Island, its original function. (Canal included in this section for convenience).

1900 Bush and McGinnis, owners of theLower Terrebonne Refinery at Monte- gut, had this bayou channelized to aid in the movement of sugarcane to their mill.

Belle Isle 1912 This channel was dredged for Ned Mcllhenny as an access route into Belle Isle and Chenier Au Tigre.When Chenier Au Tigre was opened to the public in 1915, Belle Isle Canal was used to gain access to the island. To try and reduce boat traffic, a toll of from $10 to $35 was charged. Now this canal is a part of Freshwater Bayou Gulf Outlet.

181


182

CanalApprox.Date Purpose

Billiot

Boudreaux

Breton

Bush

1900 Cut by settlers living on MauvaisBois, this channel was used as a connection from the ridge to Lake DeCade. It may have been built before 1900, but was so small it did not appear on early maps. It was essentially a pirogue trail.

1910 This channel, often called St.Martin Canal, was apparently built by the St. Martin family as an access route into Lake Boudreaux from Bayou Petit Caillou. It was an important route for shrimpers working in the lakes and bays west of Bayou Petit Caillou, a function it continues to perform.

1910 Originally a traînasse, this canalprovided an access route into the fishing, hunting and trapping regions around Little Lake. It was later enlarged by oil companies to provide a route into the Clovelly Oil and Gas Field.

1905 This route, between Bayou PetitCaillou and Bayou Terrebonne, was dredged by Bush and McGinnis so the plantations west of Bayou Terrebonne could use their Montegut refinery. Originally a 40-foot-wide channel, it is now 200-feet-wide and used primarily by fishermen and oil support vessels.


183

canalApprox.Date Purpose

Caernarvon 1912 This canal was originally a small drainage ditch on the Caernarvon plantation. However, in at attempt at marsh reclamation, the Phillip's Land Company enlarged it into a canal. The project failed, but the channel beceune an important transport route for fishermen.

Canal Blue 1900 Often called Drexlers Canal, this waterway was an important watercourse for the fishermen and trappers living north of Belle Amie, on Bayou Lafourche. It was the only major canal into the marsh north of Jean Plaisance and was used by a tremendous number of people. Today it is dcunmed, but in the early 1900's it was the principal route into the navigable waterways west of Bayou Lafourche. From this canal trappers would often push their pirogues to Four League Bay.

Canal St. Jean Charles 1900 Originally built as a traînasse,

this channel provided the people living on Isle St. Jean Charles with a route to Point Au Chien and Bayou Terrebonne. The waterway probally dates back to the 1800's, but due to its size, it was not included on historic maps. Until 1965, when the island was connected to Point Au Chien by road, this canal provided the people of Isle St. Jean Charles with a means of moving to and from the island.


184


Canclenne

Caezu

1905 As an important connection between Lake Verret and Bayou Lafourche, this channel provided fishermen and settlers with a route through the swcunp. In fact, people living at Stevensville and American Bayou used this canal to go to Napoleon- ville to purchase supplies and sell moss. The channel has been redredged and today pleasure boats and oil barges use it as far as the bridge on Louisiana highway 400.

1925 To provide easy access for fishermen using the Cazezu cannary, this canal was cut from Buras to Bay Pomme D'Or.

Delcambre 1880 This canal was originally built by continuously running cattle along the route between Delcambre and Bayou Carlin and allowing the current to scour the channel. As a result, the canal was used by schooners in the shipment of cattle. Today, there are seven shrimp processing plants along the channel regularly servicing 125 shrimp boats. During a hurricane, up to 300 vessels will seek refuge in the canal.

Dupre 1921 As a state funded project this canal reduced the navigational problems from Bayou Barataria to Bayou Cutler, providing boat traffic with a shorter route to New Orleans. Today the channel is the principal waterway into Barataria Bay; consequently, the canal's width has increased due to the constant movement of boats along the watercourse.


185


Falgout

Pasterllng

Franklin

1905 Falgout Can&l was built as a 10- foot-wide channel by the settlers on Bayou Du Large and was used as an access route into Lake DeCade. Through continuous use, first by people living on Mauvais Bois Ridge, Marmande Ridge and Bayou Du Large, and later by other, the channel has enlarged into a 200- foot-wide canal. As cm access route into trapping areas west of Lake DeCade, it became the regions most important canal.

1925 This carnal was cut from Buras toBay Pomme D'Or, and like Cazezu, provided fishermen with an access route to the Fasterling family cannery.

1800 This canal was enlarged by theCorps of Engineers as part of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway system into West Cote Blanche Bay. However, prior to that time, it served as a logging transport channel for the people and logging firms around Franklin.

Freshwater 1900 In 1967, the Corps of Engineers completed the 11-foot-deep, 125-foot- wide Freshwater Bayou Gulf Outlet between the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Using Belle Isle, Freshwater and Sixmile canals, the Engineers provided ships with a protected waterway, by-passing the dangerous water of Vermilion Bay. Although today the canal is used by large vessels, it was originally built to provide people on the coastal ridges with a route to the Gulf. When Belle Isle and Sixmile


186


Golden Star 1918

canals were constructed they had protected waterway to Abbeville, their main source of supplies.

To aid in the movement of sugarcane.

Grand Pass 1890

Golden Star plantation built a canal into Lac des Allemands. Syrup, sugar, crude oil for the mill and molasses were chipped along this route. Although the canal was primarily built to serve the plantation, it was also a favorite stop for the entertainment steamboats Mayflower and Magnolia and provided people at Kraemer with a route to Vacherie to obtain supplies. Now called Vacherie Canal, it continues to serve a large nukber of people.

Originally a pirogue trail, this channel has eroded into a 13-foot- deep connection between Caillou Lake and Lake Méchant. Used primarily by oyster luggers as a short-cut between the two lakes, the Pass now is traveled by shrimpers.

GraVOlet 1923 Gravolet Canal, along with several others, such as Belair, Fairview and Jim Williams, provided fishermen living along the Mississippi with an access route into coastal fishing regions. It was also apparently used a great deal by smugglers during prohibition. In fact, most of Louisiana's canals were used in the illegal importation of alcohol. At Leeville, for example, cases of illegal alcohol were stacked on the wharve during prohibition. This contraband was


187

Approx.Canal Date Purpose

delivered to the community through the Southwest Louisiana Canal and other navigable routes along the coast.

Gueydan 1900 This channel was originally constructed as a drainage canal; however, the waterways proximity to Lake Arthur provided the people on Pecan Island with an access route to this service center. - Cotton raised on the island was shipped via the canal to be sold at Jennings or Gueydan. Later, they traded at Abbeville and Gueydan.Canalrwas no longer used by Pecan Island residents.

Hayes

Jimmie

Kings

1925 Like Cazezu and Fasterling, thiscanal was built to provide fishermen with an access route to a packing plant, without going into the Mississippi River.

1900 This canal connects Lakes Five andLaurier and was primarily used byfishermen. The most important canalin this region, however, was Wilkinson Canal.

1925 To aid farmers raising oranges andsugarcane on Kings Ridge, the canal was cut as a transportation link from the ridge to Little Lake. It provided a route to the New Orleans market.


188

Approx.Canal Date PurposeLapeyrouse

Last Point

Little Chenier

Madison

Marmande

1910 This hand-dug channel, for a 25-cent toll provided fishermen with a short-cut from Bayou Terrebonne to Madison Bay. People living or Isle St. Jean Charles also used it to trade at Lapeyrouse store.

1921 Like Mcllhenny and West Chenier AuTigre canals, this waterway provided the Mcllhenny family with an access route to their camp on Chenier Au Tigre.

1929 In the early 1900*s there were 30to 40 families living on Little Chenier Ridge. This canal provided a route to the communities along Front and Oak Ridges.

1890 Built by Madison Belanger as apirogue trail, this channel subsequently eroded into a significant canal, providing fishermen with a cut-off into Madison Bay. Due to the accessibility of shrimping areas, Chinese fishermen established drying platforms along the waterway,

1910 Marmande Canal, originally atraînasse, was dredged to gain access to shell on the ridge. Its secondary purpose was to aid in the movement of sugarcane from the ridge to Theriot. It may have also been used by marsh hunters and trappers working between Bayou Du Large and Lake Theriot.


189


Mcllhenny 1912 Now as one of the most important transportation routes into the Audubon Wildlife Refuge Mcllhenny Canal provides a north-south passage across the sanctuary. The original purpose of this dredged channel, however, was to provide the Mcllhenny family with a convenient water route to Belle Isle.

Meyers

Oaks

Peoples

Pecan Island

1930 For oyster luggers going to Empire,Meyers Canal was a principal part of their route. Providing a link between Barataria and Adams Bay, the channel saved fishermen a considerable amount of sailing time.

1880 This canal, like Delccunbre, wasbuilt by putting cattle in m s and allowing them to churn «p the turf. By extending the "cattle trail" into Vermilion Bay cattlemen south of Erath had a meems of moving cattle into the marsh.

1895 Often called Liners Canal, thishand-dug watercourse first appears on Hardee's 1895 map aind was probably built to serve the transport needs of people living on Mauvais Bols. Connecting Lake Decade and Penchant, the canal, through time, has been used by trappers, hunters, fishermen, the oil industry and weekend sportsmen.

1905 As a community built project, thischannel was originally eight-foot- wide and three-foot-deep. However, in that it was the only waterway off the island, it was redredged in 1910 to a depth of eight feet and a width of 35 feet. Therefore,


190

Approx.Canal Date Purpose

providing a large enough channel so the community could ship cotton, watermelon and other products to the Abbeville market. (Prior to 1908 these commodities were shipped to Gueydem and Lake Arthur). These items were loaded on a "flat," which was a small barge, and pulled, either by horses or members of the community, the two miles to White Lake. Here th* commodities were transferred to a bo%t. (The vessel did not come into the canal, because it was too largs to turn around). This was essentially the method followed until "he community got their first road ii* the 1930's.

Rabbit 1920 Constructed by several fishermen, this one-quarter mile channel provided a significant abort-cut into fishing, hunting and trapping areas west of Bayou Petit Caillou.

Sea Breeze

Sevin

1920 Sea Breeze Pass was excavated byYancey Sanders to aid in the shipment of sugarcane to New Orleans.

19*20 This one-half mile channel providedthe fishermen who built it with a significant short-cut into Lake Barre east of Bayou Petit Caillou.

SchoonerBayou 1908 When the canal was completed,

people on Pecan Island began to trade at Abbeville, rather than Gueydan and Lcike Arthur. It became a significant transportation route for traffic moving between White Lake and Schooner Bayou.


191


Sixmile

Socolo

Verdunville

1918 Now part of Freshwater Bayou GulfOutlet, this channel provides shrimpers with an alternate route to the Gulf. It was originally constructed by Ned Mcllhenny as an access route into their property on Belle Isle and Chenier Au Tigre.

1925 Apparently built by fishing interests, this channel provided a route to processing plants, without going into the Mississippi.

1915 With completion of this.canal,loggers and fishermen had a convenient waterway into the Atchafalaya Basin. Built by Captain Huth for the Kyle, Jeanerette, F. B. Williams and Hanson lumber companies, it provided these firms with a shortcut to their mills.

Weeks 1900 Probably built to provide people living on Weeks Island with a route to and from the island.

West Chenier Au Tiare 1926 Like Mcllhenny Canal, this chan

nel provides an important transport route into the Audubon Wildlife Refuge. It was originally constructed by Ned Mcllhenny, as a convenient route into Chenier Au Tigre.

White Lake System 1895 This series of canals first ap

pears on Hardee's survey of Louisiana; it provided a significant link between Grand and White Lakes. Prior to completion of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway,


192


Wilkinson

the route was the "Old Intracoastal Waterway."

1900 Apparently this canal was built as a result of the efforts of the New Orleans-Fort Jackson-Grand Isle Railroad's attempt to extend their system to Grand Isle. They failed, but the canal provided the people living on Barataria Bay with a route to Myrtle Grove, where they could take the train to New Orleans.

Williams 1920 Williams (along with Grays, Panama and Southwest Louisiana) was excavated to avoid sailing into the Gulf to get into Barataria Bay. However, it was originally a pirogue trail that subsequently enlarged into a major waterway.No toll was charged to use this channel.


LanyeneLake Charles j (Jennings#

3 S.

Cameron WffggGrand Chenier Virmtiiitm Ba

miles

Inventory of Trans(Material compiled fro

1.2.

i:I:9.10.

11.12.

il:

AmoureuxAveryBayou LaCacheB e lle Is leB i l l i o tBoudreauxBretonBushCaernarvon Canal BlueCanal S t. Jean CharlesCanolenneCazezuDelcambreDuprePaigout

1112222222222333:


ATON ROUGE

Plaquemi UhMéHTtpêSLatayecneLake Charles Jennings*

Donaldsonville Mhsinippi

Gueydan* New Iberia

3 X intrac(Mstai Napoleonville

0 Franklin

... Morgan Ci

rriggGrand Chenier

Thibodaux

Vt nmtwiM Bjy

0 Lockpcrc \ >Pecan Isla

S» «'«-r// ■« oumaMarsh Island

AuhêfMyé Béy

Terrthtmm! 20-1 <Jta

Inventory of Transportation Canals, 1887 to 1930(Material compiled from Documents, Interviews, and Maps)

1. Amoureux 17. F a s te r lin g2. Avery 18. F ra n k lin3. Bayou LaCaohe 19. Freshwater

B e lle Is le 20. Golden S ta r5. B i l l i o t 21. Grand Pass6. Boudreaux 22. Gravolet7. Breton 23. Gueydan8. Bush 24. Hayes9. Caernarvon 25. Jimmie0. Canal Blue 26. Kings1. Canal S t. Jean Charles 27. Lapeyrouse2. Cancienne 28. Last Po int3. Cazezu 29. L i t t l e Chenier4. Delcambre 30. Madison5. Dupre 31. Marmande6. Paigout 32. Mcllhenny

33. M( 3^. 0«35. P(36. P<37. »38. S.39. S.4 0 . Si41. 8,42 . V,43. Wi44 . W,45 . W]46 . Wi47 . Wi


193

KlATON ROUGE

léktMdtmPéiPuquemi

Lakv rontcbartram

Donaldsonviilc

CihtmivUnr ® Stmnd

NEWORLEA

Napokonville % AlttHuni

Thibodaux

MorganLockpcrc

H ou ma

m CoUe Meadow

Auhéfidéyé Bay

Wtit Ba)

on Canals, 1887 to 1930nents, Interviews, and Maps)

l in g 33. Meyersin 34. Oaksa te r 35. Peoples

S ta r 36. Pecan Is la n dPass 37. Rabbitet 38. Sea Breezen 39. Schooner Bayou

40. S ixm ile4 l . Socolo42. V e rd u n v ille

ouse 43. Weekso in t 44. West Chenier Au T ig re

Chenier 45 . White Lake Systemn 46. W ilkinsonde 47. W illiam snny


APPENDIX II - A

PRINCIPAL LUMBERING CANALS BUILT BETWEEN 1880 AND 1930

Canal Company LocationAshland St, Louis Cypress

Lumber Company

Bayou Prévost St. Louis Cypress Lumber Company

Bowie

Cooke

Cotton

Cousins

Donner

Dry Cypress

Bowie Lumber Company

St. Louis Cypress Lumber Company

Cotton Brothers Lumber Company

Louisiana Cypress Lumber Company

Diebert-Stark & Brown


F.B. Williams F.B. Williams Lumber Company

Hanson

Hanson

Hanson Lumber Company


West of Ashland on Bayou Grand Caillou

Between Bayou Du Large and Grand Caillou

North of Lake Boeuf

From Bayou Black to Bull Run

South of Lake Fausse Pointe.

West of Leüce Cata- ouatche

From Bayou Black to Tigre Bayou.

Between Lake Salvador and Bayou Perot

South of Franklin

Between Big and Little Bayou Black

Parallel to Bayou Black

194


195

Canal Company LocationHimalaya Cotton Brothers

Lumber CompanyEast side of Lake Verret

Hollywood St. Louis Cypress Lumber Company Southeast of Houma

Ivanhoe Hanson Lumber Company

South of Ivanhoe on Bayou Cypremort

Lewis May Brothers Lumber Company

South of Lac des Allemands

LouisianaCypress


West of Lake Catar ouatche

New Canal St. Bernard Lumber Company South of Lake Borgne

Pitre Lening Louisiana Cypress Lumber Company East of Lake Boeuf

St. Louis St. Louis Cypress Lumber Company

South of Ashland on Grand Caillou

St. Louis St. Louis Cypress Lumber Company

South of Bayou Blue near Savoie

William F.B. Williams Lumber Company

East of Grassy Lake in the Atchafalaya Basin


APPENDIX II - B

REGIONS WITH UNNAMED LOGGING CANALS

Region CompanyAvery Island

Bayou Boeuf Swamp

Bayou Boeuf Swamp

Bayou Boeuf Swamp

Bayou Sorrel and Bayou Gunnie

Chacahoula Swamp

Chacahoula Swamp

East of Franklin Canal

East of Franklin Canal

East of Grand Lake

East of Grand River

East of Atchafalaya

Eastshore Lake Verret

In the Atchafalaya along the area east of Little Lake Long

In the Atchafalaya along the area in the vicinity of . Lake Fausse Pointe

(?)Bowie Lumber Compeuiy


May Brothers Lumber Company

May Brothers Lumber Company

Brownell & Drew

Diebert-Stark & Brown

F.B. Williams Lumber Company




(?)Kyle Lumber Company

(?)

(?)196


197

Region'In the Atchafalaya along

the West Arm of Grand Lake

Lake Bridge West

Lake Bridge West

North of Bayou Cocodrie

North of Bayou Sorrel

North of Ivanhoe

North of Lake Natchez

North of Little Bayou Pigeon

South of Bayou Chevreuil

South of Big Bayou Pigeon

South of Six Mile Lake

Vicinity of Bayou Long

Vicinity of Bayou L'Ors

Vicinity of Fork Bayou

Vicinity of Lake Verret

Vicinity of Lake Verret

West of Bayou Sale

West of Franklin

Company___________

(?)Brownell & Drew

Brownell & Drew

(?)Jeanerette Lumber Company


(?)

F.B. Willieuns Lumber Company

George Cousins


Norman-Breaux Lumber Company


Brownell & Drew

William Carpentier


Kyle Lumber Company


Baldwin Lumber Company


APPENDIX II - C

LOGGING CANALS OF UNKNOWN BUILDERS

Canal LocationBonvillain Near Crozier on Bayou Du Large

Delery Necir Lafitte

Halpin West of Lake Boeuf

Johnson North of Des Allemands

Kenta Bayou Barataria to Bayou Des Familles

Pointe Lavin Northeast of Lac des Allemands near Des Allemands

Providence Northeast of Lac des Allemands

Ross 1 West of Bayou des Familles

Thorgeson Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, east of Bayou Sale

Victor North of Des Allemands

198


VITA

Donald Wayne Davis ass born on July 25, 1943, in

Oakland, California. In 1961, he was graduated from

Richmond Union High School in Richmond, California. He

subsequently entered Contra Costa College and in June,

1964, iva received the degree of Associate of Arts. In

September, 1964, he entered California State University,

Hayward, 2 lifornia and in June, 1967, received the degree

of Bachelor of . rts in geography. In September, 1967,

he entered Louisiana State University and received a

Masters Û? Arts in geography in August, 1969. In June,

1968, he itried Karen Sue Williams.

He iras admitted to Louisiana State University to

study marine geography and is a candidate for the degree

of Doctor of Philosophy in geography and anthropology in

the May Commencement of 1973. He is currently employed as

an Assistant Professor in the Earth Science Department,

Francis T. Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana.

199


EXAMINATION AND THESIS REPORT

Candidate; Donald Wayne Davie

Major Field: Geography

Title of Thesis: LOUISIANA CANALS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON WETIAND DEVELOPMENT

Approved:

Date of Examination:

A p r il 9 , 1973

^ (1Professor and Chairman

D é la i of the Graduate School

EXAMINING COMMITTEE:


Louisiana Canals and Their Influence on Wetland Development. · 2019-10-18 · LOÜISIANA CANALS...

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